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Bringing the convenience of the city to the middle of nowhere

Owners completed full building renovation before opening late last fall

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February 3, 2025

ADAMS/FRIENDSHIP – There’s a new bar and grill in the Adams-Friendship area that has been growing in popularity since its opening.

Aron Nelson, owner/founder of Tap That By the Lake, said the venture happened somewhat by accident.

But Nelson said he has learned that when fate comes knocking, you better open the door, or you could miss a whole lot that life has to offer. 

Fate steps in

In addition to working as an account manager for a credit card processing company where he builds and installs Point-of-Sale (POS) systems for businesses, Nelson said he had worked as a general manager for a golf cart company in Omro.

Unfortunately, he said his boss suffered a fatal heart attack just three days after his 66th birthday last June and the company was immediately closed.

“I had to find something quickly, and I was tired of working for someone else,” he said. “So, I decided I was going to open my own business.”

Armed with an idea, Nelson said he found a vacant building in the Adams-Friendship area for rent.

“I was originally thinking about opening a tattoo shop and the building we’re in here in Adams used to be a combination tattoo shop and bar and grill,” he said. “But it shut down three years ago and has been vacant ever since. The owner was just using it for storage.”

In what Nelson said he describes as a very spur-of-the-moment decision, he went to look at it, along with a friend, now a silent partner in Tap That By the Lake. 

Nelson said immediately when they walked in, they realized that a tattoo shop in the building “would have been a waste of time and money” because it only had one room and didn’t seem practical.”

However, he said the idea of a bar and grill seemed like a good fit for the space. 

Initially, he said his silent partner wasn’t a fan of that idea, but after a day or two to think on it, the “no” turned into a “yes, let’s do it.” 

Building the business from scratch, literally

Nelson said he believed that in order to create the kind of bar and grill atmosphere they wanted, the building would need to undergo a complete renovation.

Since the owner had been considering a renovation anyway, Nelson said he wholeheartedly supported the idea.

And since it was to improve the property owner’s building, Nelson said he paid for the materials, while he, his silent partner (who works in the construction industry) and their families did the work. 

“We renovated the building ourselves,” he said. “We took it right down to the studs and rebuilt everything, including the floors, ceiling, plumbing and all the utilities were updated.”

Nelson said he used every penny he had to renovate, buy the supplies and equipment they needed and open the doors with between $30,000 and $40,000.

Though Tap That By the Lake technically opened Oct. 1, 2024, since they weren’t quite finished with the renovations and the liquor license didn’t go through until Oct. 15, Nelson said they only did carry-out and delivery orders at first.

“On Oct. 31, 2025, we had our grand opening of our bar and dine-in (area),” he said.

From the outside, Nelson said Tap That By the Lake looks like a quaint log cabin.

Inside, however, he said, it looks like a party. 

“All I want to do is make a positive impact on the community and bring them something that makes them happy,” he said. “I don’t want a dive bar where people show up and drink (like crazy). We created a beautiful, colorfully-lit event bar.”

When the weather warms up, Nelson said there are horseshoe pits outside and he plans to open an outdoor patio this summer.

“Inside, we have two dartboards, a pool table, a rockin’ jukebox with two amps, two subs and eight speakers wired through the building,” he said. “There are nights people come in just to listen to the jukebox. You can find almost any kind of music on there.”

The 2,000-square-foot building has bar seating and pub tables with pub chair seating. Submitted Photo

With a capacity of about 75 people inside the 2,000-square-foot building, Nelson said Tap That By the Lake has bar seating and pub tables with pub chair seating.

He said the bar and grill also has one table with lower seating for people who have difficulty getting up on higher bar stools.

Nelson said Tap That By the Lake’s sound is controlled by two zones.

He said in the bar area, they can turn the volume down so people can hear each other talk and in the pool table and dance floor area, it can be louder – something that he said is not always the case in bars. 

“I’m trying to take my 13 years of sales knowledge and apply every aspect of it into this business and make it as fun as possible for people, while also offering something for everyone, in the food and atmosphere,” he said. 

Nelson said people who are familiar with the building and have been in it over the years have told him it’s the most beautiful they’ve ever seen the building. 

Spirits

Nelson said the name – Tap That By the Lake – is a combination of two aspects of the establishment.

“We’re by the lake, and we’re a tapper-based bar,” he said. “After thinking about a lot of different names, this one just seemed perfect. We have seven different tap beers on hand and hopefully will have more eventually.”

Being located in a “big tourist area” Nelson said Tap That By the Lake does what it can to promote Wisconsin-brand products.

“We’ve got Door County liquor, Door County wine, Spotted Cow beer, Blue Moon, Leinenkugel and all other major name-brand stuff when it comes to beer,” he said.

Nelson said they also proudly offer a signature brand of liquor called Copper Crow (a Superior, Wisconsin, original).

He said Tap That By the Lake is the only establishment in the county to carry that label.

Based in Bayfield County, Nelson said Copper Crow Distillery is the first indigenous distillery in North America to craft 10 different award-winning spirits.  

“Copper Crow is brewed on the Red Cliff Chippewa Reservation by my business partner’s family,” he said. “It is our top-shelf liquor that is anywhere from 85 to 114 proof. Our Copper Crow rum is sold by the bottle because it is a 114-proof Navy strength rum and is some of the smoothest and most delicious rum you’ll ever have.”

Food

Nelson said Tap That By the Lake’s food menu features the standard bar food with a twist.

The menu includes flame-grilled build-your-own pub burgers, all of which he said are 100% natural beef.

There are also wings (with six different sauces), broasted chicken and pizza. 

One unique menu item, which Nelson said could be considered a signature food, is its Tap That by the Foot. 

“It is a 12-inch long, 100% all beef half-pound hot dog on a bun the size of the dog, served with homemade chili made from scratch, along with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onions and a half-pound side of battered fries,” he said.

Nelson said Tap That By the Lake’s pizzas are by far the biggest sellers.

In fact, he said by mid-December – just weeks after opening full-time, Tap That By the Lake had sold its 1,000th pizza. 

“People are saying we have the best pizza in town,” he said. “We have a unique blend of cheese that no one else has. Our sauce is a secret recipe that my silent partner came up with. We went through umpteen taste-tests to get the right sauce and cheese blend. Our cheese stretches just like in those old cartoons you might remember seeing.”

Nelson said if patrons don’t like one of the pizzas listed on the menu, they can build their own pizza.

“We’ve got every topping that you could think of, besides anchovies,” he said. “We have four different cheese options and it’s all Wisconsin cheese that comes from Stone Ridge.” 

Nelson said the goal is to promote fresh foods from Wisconsin using all fresh ingredients.

“Our beef is from a local meat market who gets it from small Wisconsin farmers who have grass-raised beef that’s fresh, never frozen,” he said. “All of our pizzas are made with fresh veggies and toppings every day. The only thing not completely fresh is our pizza crust, which is par-baked.”

Deliveries a welcome addition

Though Tap That By the Lake’s in-house business is equally balanced with delivery and carry-out business, Nelson said deliveries are the heart of the company.

“Delivery is something all these folks around here were begging to have, but no business wanted to do it,” he said. “People from here have been to the Twin Cities and hunters come here from the Cities and they’re all used to using DoorDash or having things delivered in one way or another. But they come out here, and we don’t even have Uber drivers. So I brought the luxury of the city to the middle of nowhere. In a small town that’s never had the kind of service we provide, delivery and carry-out alone made us $10,000 in our first month.”

Nelson said Tap That By the Lake delivers within a 10-mile radius, touching every small town in and around Adams. 

Located at 1914 State Hwy 13, Tap That By the Lake is open 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week. 

Just the beginning

Though Tap That By the Lake has just a few months under its belt, Nelson said this is just the beginning of his entrepreneurial ideas.

He said he has plans to bring all kinds of new things to the Adams-Friendship area. 

New businesses operating under the banner of Nelson Family Ventures, LLC, Nelson said will likely include a taxi service, a supper club and an auto repair shop. 

“I want to give this community what they don’t have, but I know they want,” he said. “I listen to what people tell me, and I know from a customer service perspective and a sales mentality that when you give people what they want, they will be your ally for life.”

In the short-term, however, Nelson said he wants to build a successful business that makes the community happy and makes a positive impact on the world. 

“I want to build something of my own that I can show the world that I know what I’m doing, and leave something for my kids for when they grow up,” he said.

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