Carrying on a family legacy the ‘old fashioned’ way

Rich Palzewic

Staff

October 21, 2024

CLEVELAND – For one area supperclub, it’s been a year of passing the torch, while carrying on a family legacy from years past.

Though its history in Cleveland dates back decades, Rupp’s Supperclub – located at 1102 W. Washington Ave. – has had a new owner at the helm for the past year.

Tera Castillo said she purchased Rupp’s last October. 

“It’s exciting to have been (the owner) for about a year now,” she said. “I’m close to the Rupps and worked for (Richard and Sandra) in Sheboygan at Rupp’s Downtown for more than 20 years, so I’m familiar with the family and the supperclub business. I started working there in late 2003.”

Richard and Sandra, Castillo said, weren’t the only Rupps in the supperclub business.

In fact, it was Larry (Richard’s brother) and Debe Rupp’s supperclub in Cleveland that Castillo purchased.

Castillo said she has always loved the atmosphere of a supperclub.

“I call it a ‘dining lifestyle,’” she said. “It’s different walking into a supperclub than it is walking into an Olive Garden or an Applebee’s. The atmosphere is different. You come in and you’re instantly greeted and comfortable. You sit at the bar, have an old-fashioned and you don’t just get served a drink – you get served a conversation, too. The bartenders, no matter how busy they are, always converse with everybody – that’s how it is at any supper club I’ve gone to. Supperclub owners are passionate about what they do.”

Castillo said the thought of owning Rupp’s goes back at least a decade.

“It’s always been something I’ve thought about, at least for the last 10-15 years,” she said. “I left Rupp’s in Sheboygan in 2021 to go to the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake as a food and beverage director. I needed that experience – the accounting and all the things I would need to know to help me succeed in owning my own business.”

Though she stepped away from Rupp’s in Sheboygan for a bit, Castillo said she was always talking to Sandra about ownership someday.

“I’d say about two years ago, I said to Sandra, ‘I would give anything to own Rupp’s – would you be willing to sell to me?’” she said. “Richard had passed away, and I was tired of working 80-90 hours a week (in Elkhart Lake). She’s an amazing woman and still runs the business, but at the time, she just wasn’t quite ready to sell. But then Larry put Rupp’s (in Cleveland) up for sale a few months after. I spoke to Larry, and he accepted my offer. Here we are – everything happens for a reason.”

Known for its steaks and more

Most supperclubs are known for their steak, seafood and salad bars, and Castillo said Rupp’s is no different.

“Larry, the previous owner, took so much pride in the quality of his food, and we followed the same tradition,” she said. “We hand cut our steaks and order top quality. The only steaks we can’t cut are our bone-in steaks, and that’s because we don’t have a bone saw – but we order them locally.”

Though a big staple of the menu, Castillo said, “it’s not all about steaks,” with many  other items sourced locally. 

“We keep everything local,” she said. “The cheese and dairy come in local, while our pasta salad, our coleslaws and our beans are all homemade – as are the dressings. We take pride in taking that extra effort to make this what it has always been and to keep that tradition going strong.”

Though Rupp’s has been a successful supperclub for more than four decades, Castillo said as the new owner, she has changed a few things.

“I think a restaurant always has to improvise and change a little bit,” she said. “Larry did an amazing job, but years have passed, and COVID-19 changed the world. I needed to adjust some things to bring it more up-to-date. I didn’t change the menu much, but I added some bigger steaks. Everybody seems to like really big steaks around here. We have a 40-ounce tomahawk steak we feature now, and they are amazing.”

Castillo said the tomahawk is two-and-a-half pounds of “great, quality steak.”

“We only order so many at a time because they’re so big,” she said. “So far – we’ve had it for about a month – only two guests were unable to finish it. Everyone else has devoured it down to that bone, so it’s great and exciting. The two people who didn’t finish the whole thing cut a hole in their box and the tomahawk bone was sticking out the side of their box.”

Castillo said Rupp’s is a smaller supperclub with only 18 tables.

“We always push for reservations, but we’re fast,” she said. “Larry stayed and helped train my kitchen staff.”

Making a comeback

Castillo said supperclubs around the state are “absolutely coming back.”

“I think everything comes full circle, and supperclubs are an example of that,” she said. “We live in a fast-paced world where people seem to always be on the go and don’t have time for much – including enjoying a meal. Eventually, people miss the way it used to be and come back to the old-fashioned way like what a supperclub offers.”

Castillo said social media has helped, too.

“There are a couple of Facebook pages for supperclub enthusiasts,” she said. “Wisconsin Supper Club Enthusiasts and Wisconsin Supper Club Chasers are two of the better-known ones. People will come here just because they want to check out different supperclubs. There’s also a supperclub stamp book to show where you’ve been.”

Giving back

Castillo said her passion goes beyond just providing quality food.

“We have so many local humane societies that need help,” she said. “They’re always reaching out needing help, whether it’s cat food, dog food, supplies, etc. Because I’ve only been in business for a year, I may not be able to write them a big check, but I can at least pull the supperclub families together. The people who enjoy animals and the restaurant as much as I do, I have them bring in a donation, and then they can throw their name into a drawing for a free dinner.”

Rupp’s Supperclub also held a cancer benefit for Debe and Larry Rupp earlier this year.

“Debe and Larry both found out they had cancer within a month of me purchasing,” she said. “I needed to give back because without the legacy they have built and that I have lived and worked for the last 20-plus years – even though it was the other Rupp’s I worked for – (I wouldn’t be where I am today).”

Rupp’s is open from 3-8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and from 3-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The supperclub is closed on Monday.

For more information, find it on Facebook.