Red Pines Cafe focuses on flavor, hospitality, growth

Jennifer Much

Contributor

July 22, 2024

ONALASKA – With a direct view of Lake Onalaska’s northern shore, The Red Pines Cafe is the newest addition to the Red Pines family.

The cafe – which opened earlier this year at W7305 County Road Z – joins the Red Pines Bar & Grill and a handful of Airbnbs owned and operated by Corinna and Michael Todd.

The Todds have owned The Red Pines Pub & Grill for the past nine years – but it was the military that first brought the couple to the area.

“We are a military family, and my husband was assigned to Fort McCoy as the training brigade commander – that brought us to the area,” Corinna said.

When her husband assumed his duties at Fort McCoy, Corinna said she settled into a career of her own as the director of marketing for a local design-build company.

While there, she said she met the son of the then-owner of Red Pines Bar & Grill.

“We were customers of the Red Pines, and he always teased me about buying his mom’s business,” she said. “I decided I never wanted to work for anyone again, and the rest is history.”

The nudge of buying the restaurant has quickly grown into nearly a decade of ownership, a change the Todds said they are still exceptionally grateful for.

“We loved Red Pines,” she said. “Red Pines Bar & Grill was a turn-key opportunity as the previous owners agreed to stay on to make it a smooth transition for us for as long as we needed.”

Following the purchase, the Todds said they have continued to showcase the property’s charm and potential through growth and opportunity.

Where there’s food, there’s family 

The Todds said because of their personal history with the business, paired with feedback from guests, they were inspired to take their venture one step further by opening The Red Pines Cafe.

“We have always had guests ask us to do breakfast,” Corinna said. “We thought the cafe would be a great compliment to what we already offer.”

She said the cafe has a classy but casual vibe.

“It differs from our bar and grill – it is much smaller and more intimate,” she said. “It’s great for couples, meetings and girlfriends to meet up for coffee or our homemade Bloody Marys.”

Corinna said the cafe offers a menu filled with breakfast items, sandwiches, gourmet flatbreads and Italian gelato, as well as local Bean Juice and Cafe to Farmers roasted coffees.

The cafe, she said, also has a full bar featuring espresso martinis, old fashioneds and more. 

Some menu specifics, Corinna said, include:

• The Croque Madame – a toasted sandwich with asiago and mozzarella cheese, cut ham, bechamel cream sauce with an over-easy egg
• The Bacon & Fig Jam Flatbread – which is made with whipped goat cheese, house-pickled red onions, fig jam and bacon jam served with fresh arugula

“There is much collaboration about our menus, and our goal is always to keep things fresh,” she said.

Corinna said the flatbreads are probably the most popular item on the menu.

“Like at the main restaurant, we make everything from scratch and don’t spare on the quality or details,” she said.

The best part of Red Pines Cafe, Corinna said, is family.

“Our kitchen is run by our son, Connor, and his amazing team,” she said.

Corinna said there are also dashes of family tradition in the form of recipes, including those that are made with one particular ingredient – cornichons.

“My mother is Belgian, born and bred, so we spent a lot of time going back to visit family when I was young,” she said. “The cornichon garnishes we use on the sandwiches were our favorite snack and specific to our family.”

Cornichons, Corinna said, are a miniature variety of pickles that are salt-cured and soaked in vinegar.

She said they are versatile, are often paired with tarragon or clove and have an easily distinguishable, bumpy appearance.

One of the many dishes at Red Pines featuring cornichons, Corinna said, is the German Cubano – which is filled with in-house smoked pulled pork, Gouda cheese, Red Pines pickles, German Dusseldorf mustard and the crunchy, European-style cornichons. 

The Red Pines menu gives another nod to the owner’s backgrounds through its “international recipe” specials offered each week. 

“The international recipes come directly from our family,” Corinna said. “We moved 17 times in 24 years and lived on the East Coast, West Coast, Europe and the Middle East. It’s fun to bring these experiences and recipes to guests that bring back memories for them or allow them to try something they may never experience without traveling.”

A German lesson in hospitality

Corinna said one of the biggest lessons she has learned that has helped shape the business is that kindness is important and hospitality is key.

“We learned that in Vilseck, Germany, from our favorite restaurant owner, Frau Hammer,” she said.

Corinna said every time she went to the restaurant, she was personally greeted, and Hammer often gave the children chocolates and took them back into the kitchen to get ice cream – an experience she said was like visiting a grandmother.

She said she has taken that lesson and woven it into how she operates her own business.

“I tell everyone the restaurant is like our house, and everyone is our guest,” she said. 

This mindset, Corinna said, has become the No. 1 standard for staff at Red Pines over the years.

“It is personal,” she said. “You can own a business, but it’s much better when you ‘run’ a business and you care  – we care about our guests and hope they enjoy their experience.”

Corinna said this lesson has allowed her to get to know her customers and to see some of them grow, which is something she will forever cherish.

“We have the kindest guests,” she said. “With not being (originally) from this area, they have become like family to us.” 

Corinna said there has been an outpouring of support from the community since they first took over Red Pines nearly a decade ago.

“The other day, one of our regular couples came in with their daughter, Marley, who has been to Red Pines since she was in the womb, and when she saw me – she ran into my arms,” she said. “It brought tears to my eyes – so sweet.”

The community connection  

Aside from the lake view and the food, Corinna said patrons of Red Pines Cafe and its sister, Red Pines Bar & Grill, experience a feeling of community connection.

“The cafe is staffed by the same awesome staff we have at the restaurant,” she said. “It gives our staff variety in the shifts they work and our guests consistency in service – our staff knows what we expect, and they care about making it something special.”

Corinna said her business has changed over time and that each year, guests help her gain valuable insight on how to improve.

“We are always looking for ways to offer a better experience for our guests so they have the best experience and the best food,” she said.

It was this feedback, Corinna said, that prompted the cafe’s opening.

The next project, she said, will include adding a deck to their outdoor Pine Cone Concession with a bar so guests have additional seating options during their visit – another want of the community.

The Todds said they also enjoy interacting with the community through acts of charity. 

“We support as much as we can through gift cards and sponsorships that make sense to our business,” Corinna said. “When we support, we try to choose organizations with a wider scope to benefit the most people in our area.”

One cause especially near and dear to their hearts, Corinna said is veterans.

“Because my husband served in the regular army for 24 years, the week of Veterans Day we collect donations and match the funds,” she said.

Funds collected are used to provide gift cards and supply needs from a list for the Tomah VA. Last year, Corinna said they donated $1,525.

“We do this instead of a military discount or free meal on Veterans Day, as we like to support those veterans who can’t get out regularly or maybe never at all,” she said.

Patrons can visit the cafe from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Saturday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Red Pines Bar & Grill is open 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, including weekly international special announcements, follow The Red Pines Cafe on Facebook.

For more on Red Pines Bar and Grill, visit redpinesbarandgrill.com.