Little Swiss Village Resort, Wisconsin: Top-Notch Cuisine and Hospitality
When we want to take out-of-town guests to a nice breakfast or lunch, we head for the Little Swiss Village resort, west of Minocqua, Wisconsin and overlooking picturesque Blue Lake.
You can't beat the cuisine and hospitality here. Meals are made using Old-Country recipes, many from owner Patt W.'s grandfather, a former Swiss innkeeper. We love the Black Forest pancakes and the Reuben sandwiches on German rye.
I recommend making reservations, especially if you want a table with a lake view or overlooking Chesterville, a miniature village where chipmunks untie peanuts strung on a cord, much to the amusement of diners. People wait for hours to see these critters play!
Minocqua is in north-central Wisconsin at the junction of U.S. Highway 51 and State Highway 70, about 25 miles northwest of Rhinelander. The resort (7650 Blue Lake Pines Rd.), which is open from Mother's Day through the first weekend in October, is about 6 miles southwest of Minocqua. From the town, head south on Highway 51 for about 3 miles, then turn west on Blue Lake Road. In 3 miles, you'll reach Blue Lake Pines Road; turn north into the resort grounds. To learn more, call 1-715-356-3675 during tourist season or 1-715-356-1619 in winter, or visit their website.
(8 votes, average: 2.75 out of 5)
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This place used to exploit all most all of its immigrant workers in an inexplicable and terrible way. They used to pay regular workers 2 usd per hour and behaved towards them like animals. The owners (Patt Wegmann and her son) were very ignorant and dishonest people. Actually till this very day, I haven't met such (miserable) people.
This is disheartening. I’m sorry you experienced this! I went there as a child and remember the diversity of the staff - unusual for northern Wisconsin then and even now.
I too was an ex employee and during that time Patt became like a mom to me. In fact, all these years later, we’re still occasionally in touch.
At the time $2.33 was the state appointed hourly wage for waitstaff who collect tips - and it was the same when I worked for Jacobi’s which was a 5 star restaurant. Patt had a way she liked things done, but you can’t blame her - the business was their livelihood and in hindsight it couldn’t have been easy juggling all of us teenagers as staff. I could tell you some stories 😂…
The Village was the perfect summer job, especially for those who were Min-Aqua Bats looking for evenings free to participate in the shows. Many local high school students worked there as well. As an adult now, thinking back - I can assure you, it needed to be a tight run ship.
The above comment feels unfair, bitter and lacking details. Maybe try to shift your perspective and think about the pressure she was under to keep that place going and all the things that she had to juggle in order to do so.
It should be noted that Patt was mostly hard on those who showed up and didn’t want to work. I witnessed it, and it was a fair assessment. But she was generous and loving (sometimes tough love) toward individuals who showed up, showed good character and work ethic.
It’s not just me, there are many others I can cite who would report their experience in a similar manner.
Wow one of the best places for breakfast and to entertain the kids is gone. The food was great and I loved the flowers outside. Always top notch and well maintained. Gone now how sad.
Sorry to report, but the ever charming Little Swiss Village is kaput ... that is, out of business. Gone. But not forgotten!
Is the Little Swiss Village still open??? I requested information about this restaurant & was told that the new owners closed it..
If it is still in operation do they still have the Chipmunks???
It closed several years ago. It was a much loved gem.