'It's going to be missed:" Closure of Marquette Bar and Cafe will leave void in town

By Audrey Posten | Times-Register

“It’s going to be missed—because good things are missed,” reflected Tom Nelson.

Nelson and his wife Kathy have been coming to the Marquette Bar and Cafe regularly for 25 years. They were among the many customers who were sad to see the business close on Nov. 23 after over a century of operation as not only a restaurant but what Nelson described as “a cultural center point” of the community, “a wonderful place where good people can get together.”

The location at 87 First St., in Marquette, has served meals made from scratch since 1904, when James Berry built the New Berry Hotel a half block from the depot where the passenger trains stopped. An article from the North Iowa Times said “no money was spared in its construction. It is built of solid brick, all tile floors and steel ceilings on the first floor.” 

The first floor included a first-class buffet, barbershop and bathrooms, as well as a marble fount serving artesian water. After an addition in 1911, the total number of hotel rooms reached 40—each with a brass bed, electric lights and hot and cold water.

Berry owned and managed the Berry Hotel for 25 years, according to North Iowa Times archives, and Henry Weiss, the Noggles and Goites followed as proprietors. Fred Schweer bought the hotel in 1936, after operating the Koolstein Inn on the lower south floor of the building for many years. 

Eleanor Soulli took over in 1970. The restaurant wasn’t as busy then, she recalled.

“There were hotel rooms above and the railroad stayed there nights. There was usually a three-man crew at that time and they paid $3 a night. Can you imagine? They started eating there when they came, usually in the evening,” she said. “Then Bituma started in 1970. That’s how I really got started.”

The opening of the manufacturer helped business boom at the Marquette Bar and Cafe, which Soulli said typically operated daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

“When Bituma got going, they started coming down after work and we started delivering to them. We had Thanksgiving and different meals there. There was probably 200 people we cooked for,” Soulli shared. “Then the guys started ordering during breaks and stuff. Probably two or three times a day we served food for them. Supper time was their main meal.” 

Staff then were Soulli, a cook and a waitress who sometimes had to deliver food. 

“Then it got busier with the regulars,” she said. “I had really good customers, local people. I had really good help too.”

Meals included roast beef, salisbury steak and meatloaf—always with mashed potatoes and gravy and a vegetable, according to Soulli.

They were similar to the home-cooked, made-from-scratch menu items Julie Troester enjoyed serving when she began working at the cafe in August 1999, a few months before Soulli sold the business to Dave Martin.

Martin was retired from Kimberly Clark and a former Wisconsin state legislator. He and wife Joan had frequented the community “and just decided to try it,” Soulli recalled. “I don’t think he thought he was going to be there for a long time.”

Martin owned the Marquette Bar and Cafe until his passing in January of this year. Troester managed the business during that 26-year span, where she said she learned a lot and met a lot of great people. 

Troester and Martin originally planned to retire together in June, when she turned 65. 

“We were going to get out of the business and sell it to somebody else,” she said. 

The two didn’t want to see the Marquette Bar and Cafe close. In fact, “My boss said never under his watch,” Troester shared.

But after Martin’s death, a decision out of her control was made to put the building up for sale. The new owners have other wishes for the building, and plan to convert it fully to apartments.

“[The restaurant] is going to be gone,” Troester said.

Since the Nov. 6 announcement that Marquette Bar and Cafe would close, Troester said it’s been busy as customers enjoy their last meal there. 

Breakfast has been one of the most popular meals over the years, along with the restaurant’s daily specials, homemade potatoes and soups.

“A lot of people have asked for a recipe [for the chicken and dumpling soup], and I said, ‘I don’t really have a recipe,’” Troester commented. 

The cafe’s closure will leave a void in Marquette. Eating options will include Casey’s convenience store, Deli and Chips at Casino Queen Marquette and stone fired pizzas at Eagles Landing Winery, but no full-service restaurant that operates throughout the week.

“It’s sad,” said Troester. “The whole town’s not going to have a place to eat.”

But while the food is great, “it isn’t just coming for breakfast,” acknowledged BonaDean Feller, a resident who’s frequented the cafe for over 25 years. “It’s part of your social experience.” 

“And what are we going to do now?” she wondered. “I don’t know. That’s a problem.” 

Feller was at Marquette Bar and Cafe every morning they were open (the business was lately closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). It was much the same for other breakfast regulars, including Frank Rodenberg and Adrian Kinley.

“I’ve been coming since 1956,” Kinley said proudly.

Others were lunchtime staples. 

Through card games, birthday parties, coffee groups and tasty meals, the cafe has become a familial atmosphere for generations of locals as well as visitors. One person who commented on the Facebook post about the closure even likened the loss of the business to “losing another member of my family.”

“You meet new people and see the friends you’ve known for a long, long time. But they’re also family,” added Feller.

“They keep track of you,” quipped Rodenberg, who was on the receiving end of several phone calls when he didn’t show up for breakfast as expected. “[Waitress] Krissy [Johnson] keeps us all happy. She’s always got a smile.”

Nelson had a similar experience. 

“Julie and Krissy are so good. Even when they’re busy, they take the time to lay that warm smile on you or a little jibe,” he said. “They’ve really created something special here. Their personality has blended into what they do. For Kathy and I, it’s a safe place to come. When you walk in here, you’re home.”

Nelson credited Martin for instilling that “sense of value” into Marquette Bar and Cafe, which he said Troester and Johnson have carried through.

Troester said Martin was always trusting and compassionate. She recalled a time a customer wasn’t able to pay for a meal. Along with the bill, Martin handed them a drink ticket with the cafe’s address on it and told them to mail the money when they returned home.

“I said, ‘You’re never going to see that money.’ A week later, that money showed up,” she said.

Troester and Johnson will spend at least two weeks after the cafe closes cleaning and distributing equipment and memorabilia elsewhere. Once it’s over, she said she’ll miss the routine. But most of all, she’ll miss the people.

“It’s been fun. I’ve met a lot of people here—a lot of characters,” she shared. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have this job and for the people we’ve met.”