Longest family-owned diner in Wisconsin sold

Lisa Haefs

Contributor

March 2, 2026

ANTIGO – Known for its traditional, “from-scratch” diner food and historic, retro atmosphere, former Co-owner Sue Ourada Stanton said the Dixie Lunch (716 5th Ave.) has long served as a cornerstone of Wisconsin dining – holding the title of oldest, continuously family-owned diner in the State of Wisconsin.

That chapter ended Feb. 25, Stanton said, when the Ourada family served its final meals at the Dixie before selling it and the adjacent Fifth Avenue Restaurant and Lounge to Wausau restaurateurs, Ardian Jashari and Lee Martino.

New ownership, familiar charm

Though the Ourada family’s chapter has closed, Stanton said the diner is in very capable hands.

Jashari – who runs Era Cafes across Wausau, Woodruff and Waunakee – and Martino – who most recently owned Ropa’s Chicago-Style Pizza in Wausau – bring deep local experience in food and hospitality.

“We have plenty of experience, and I’ve been spending time with Sue [learning the ropes],” Martino said. “We have some exciting new menu options, but it will be a slow progression. We want to take time to really understand the customers and the staff.”

Stanton said she hopes the diner thrives under its new ownership, as it did under the Ourada family for eight decades.

“The community needs a diner,” she said. “The new owners plan to keep any staff who would like to stay and continue with much of the same food, including kolaches and pies.”

The early days

According to a history of the Dixie provided by Stanton, after working at a local bakery and serving in World War II, her parents – Ed and Georgian Ourada – returned to Antigo and in 1945 bought a diner from Frank Poulos.

The tiny space – just 12 feet wide and 24 feet long – could serve only 24 customers at a time, and hamburgers sold for a dime each.

Two years later, the Ouradas tore down the original building and constructed the current Dixie. 

Though the building has seen a few updates over the years, Stanton said it has retained its classic hometown diner look and feel.

At a time when societal expectations often kept women at home, Stanton said Georgian broke the mold as an equal partner in the business, balancing work side by side with her husband while raising seven children.

“She was a real trailblazer,” she said.

A true family operation

Stanton said The Dixie has always been a true family operation.

She, her brother Gus – also a co-owner – and their siblings Jean, Larry, Steve, Tom and Deb all pitched in behind the counter or in the kitchen at one point or another.

Stanton said Tom, who served as a state assemblyman from 1984-99, would step in as a short-order cook whenever he was home from Madison.

“I remember coming down to the Dixie every Thanksgiving morning to paint the floors behind the counter,” she said. “We had to do it that day because it was the only day we were closed. Afterward, we all ate Dixie Special hamburgers before going home for Thanksgiving dinner.”

As other family members pursued different careers and their parents retired, Stanton said she, Gus and Larry stayed on and expanded the business.

“We grew up in this place,” she said. “This is all I ever wanted to do.”

Eventually, she said Larry sold his share to her and Gus but continued working behind the counter for several more years.

Recognition, legacy

The Dixie Lunch was named Wisconsin’s oldest continuously family-owned diner in Joanna Raetz Stuttgen’s 2004 book “Café Wisconsin,” an accolade Stanton said the Ouradas celebrated proudly.

For the diner’s 80th anniversary, Stanton said they printed the honor on T-shirts and served a menu full of nostalgic favorites – Bohemian Kneecaps, pasties, Short Johns, kolaches and all-day breakfast platters made from locally sourced eggs and potatoes.

Stanton said the “longest-running” honor wasn’t the Dixie’s only claim to fame.

Known for the Dixie Special – once dubbed “the best cheeseburger in the entire world” by Joliet Herald-News columnist Brian Stanley – the diner also displayed awards, plaques and historical photos of the founders.

Expanding the tradition

Taking over the former Thorne’s Liquor and Books site in 1985, Stanton said Fifth Avenue Restaurant (714 5th Ave.) was established to reach a broader and different customer base.
“We created Fifth Avenue to cater to a whole different group of people,” she said. “We were the first real pub in town.”

No matter how much the business expanded or changed over time, Stanton said the strong bond between the Dixie, Fifth Avenue and the community never wavered – even serving as hubs for a variety of community organizations. 

Each year, Stanton said Antigo High School Drama Club members traded performances for breakfast and announced the spring production’s cast at the Dixie.

She said the restaurants were also deeply woven into local traditions, serving as popular gathering spots before and after football games and ahead of downtown parades.

Stanton said they also attracted public officials at every level, from city leaders to governors and members of Congress.

“This has always been a place where people can get together and just enjoy each other’s company,” she said.

A seat in history

Stanton said the Dixie’s distinction as the longest-running family-owned restaurant is not likely to be surpassed anytime soon.

She said she credits that longevity to the restaurant’s devoted customers, whom she described as being like family.

“It was really due to our loyal customers, they were like our family,” she said. “We got tourists stopping through, but it came down to the people who came in once or twice a week or every day in many cases. We couldn’t have survived without them, and we liked to think we gave something special back to them as well… Now, it’s just a new era of life for the Ouradas.”

The Business News plans to check in with the new owners later this year to give readers an update on how things are going.

Until then, head to the diner’s Facebook page for more details.