Situated on a busy highway between East and West Lake Okoboji, a recently reopened restaurant serves summertime comfort food, steeped in history.
The lakefront property was built in the late 1800s as a general store that once gathered mail, sold bait and stored boats. Eventually, it was turned into a fast food franchise and, most recently, the Fisherman’s Wharf.
After more than seven months of renovation, the eatery has reopened as the Okoboji Store.
The owners, sisters Julie Andres and Susan Mau, went fishing for a new name and considered the Trestle, Zeke’s Place, Sea Ray Saloon and the Pontoon Spoon, among a slew of others. But the more they dug into the site’s historical significance, the more their choice became clear.
“We’ve got to go back to history and do it that way,” Andres said. “So history won the day.”
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Through three generations, the Wilsons operated an Okoboji boat business and general store, a legacy that ended with two brothers, Fred and Zeke.
Today, the two sisters own both sites, now known as Mau Marine and the Okoboji Store. When they started remodeling the former general store, they decided to honor the Wilson family tradition and bring back the old-time feel of the local landmark.
S.E. Mills established the property with Louis Kellsen who intended to run a skating rink upstairs while Mills operated a livery on the lower level. Soon after completion the skating craze collapsed. Kellsen sold out and Mills opened the Okoboji Store, which housed the post office.
W.S. “Bill” Wilson bought the general store in 1888. He became a postmaster and managed the store while his sons, Oliver and Edward, operated Wilson Boat Works and a rowboat rental service, respectively. Edward’s sons, Fred and Zeke, were last in line to run the family business before it changed hands in the 1970s.
The historic site became home to a KFC restaurant for a time. Of late, Jerry Kurth owned and operated Fisherman’s Wharf there for more than a decade. Andres and her sister bought him out in 2010. Kurth died of cancer two years later. Two of his longtime employees leased the building and continued to run the Wharf until last October, when renovations began.
The new look features a convergence of vintage touches from the bar made from deconstructed crates to the booths that are reminiscent of the red leather seats in a classic Chris Craft wooden boat.
A black and white photo of horses and wagons waiting outside the old Okoboji Store spans the length of a wall.
The revamped restaurant, which seats 100 inside and 100 outside, will run year-round, serving casual lakefront fare with 16 beers on tap.
The new menu includes tasty appetizers like teriyaki chicken wings and homemade cheese curds, which are dipped in a batter made with local craft brew from West O Beer.
For the main course, signature dishes give a nod to history. The Store Burger is topped with gruyere cheese, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and a special sauce. Zeke’s Fish and Chips is made with bluegill, a popular Okoboji catch.
The Okoboji Store also has a kids menu stocked with standbys like macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and chicken strips. While they wait for their food, they can color an Okoboji Store postcard and have it mailed, postage paid courtesy of the restaurant.
For dessert, diners can get campfire s’mores.
Just like the old days, there's something for everyone at the Okoboji Store.
