SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Chris and Susan Reichelt have been married for 34 years — a power restaurateur couple.
“When we used to come here when we first met, it was a big hangout," recalling memories from the bar the frequented back in the day. Now they own it.
“It’s that adrenaline that you get out of the accomplishment of serving 250 people on a Friday night and it was mass confusion everywhere," Sue noted. "But it was fun.”
It's called Chris and Sue’s Restaurant and Bar in Sheboygan Falls, but the couple put it up for sale this month.
They’ve been at that location seven years but have 30 years of food and drink experience together. The walls of the dining area are like a road map of their journey, filled with old signs and newspaper clippings from former restaurants.
"It’s the people you meet," Chris explained. "I don’t tell people I have to work today because it doesn’t feel like work."
The restaurant building dating back to the 1800s has had loyal customers for years, but Chris and Sue have a following of their own — patrons and staff.
Watch: Why this Sheboygan Falls couple is putting their restaurant up for sale:
Whether it was a Friday fish fry or Chris’ famous smoked ribs, people just kept coming back.
"The customers ask me 'Why are you selling it?'" Sue said. "And I say to them 'Because I want to be at this table sitting next to you eating dinner. We don’t get to do that.'”
But it's time for retirement.
They have 10 grandchildren who they both said are growing too quickly for anything else to take up their time.
"There will be tears shed, definitely," Chris noted. "I’m excited for it to sell, but if it sold next week, I don’t think I’m quite that ready. So, I’m hoping it takes a little while longer.”
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