Farmhouse Restaurant: Big-time service in small-town USA

Rich Palzewic

Staff

June 23, 2025

WEYERHAEUSER – Tucked in the southwest corner of Rusk County, in the small Village of Weyerhaeuser, big things are happening at the Farmhouse Restaurant & Bar LLC.

Due to its “delicious food, great service and most importantly, its community involvement,” Courtney Price, executive director of the Rusk Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Farmhouse was recently named Small Business of the Year.

“Businesses were nominated by community members in the Rusk County area,” she said. “Write-ins for the Farmhouse spoke about their food, service and how they go above and beyond for the community. They contribute to event sponsorships and food donations and hold events of their own. They always find ways to give back, even though they are a small business.”

To be nominated in the Small Business of the Year category, Price said Rusk County businesses have to employ 25 or fewer people and demonstrate crucial service and involvement in the community.

“It was quite the honor,” Farmhouse Owner Heather Gronski said. “My husband, Steve, and I are very grateful and humbled to receive the award. It came as a big surprise to us. There are a whole bunch of other small businesses that could have been chosen or nominated, and we were nominated twice. To me, that shows that what we’re doing is something special.”

Gronski said another reason she thinks the Farmhouse was honored is because “we go above and beyond to help people out.”

“Yes, we have set hours, but if you have a private event you want to have here, we try and work that out,” she said. “I have people call/message me knowing we are closed on certain days, but they have a group needing the space. In the summertime, I have a group of 13 guys who probably come in every other month. They come in Sunday through Wednesday, twice a day. I open up just for them.”

Gronski said she has also helped accommodate the Ice Age Trail folks.

“They asked me if I could open up on a Tuesday night, and they brought in like 35 people,” she said. “It was unexpected, but it’s awesome that people reach out to me to do those certain things because maybe other business owners wouldn’t do that… I think that shows people how different we are, and we’re not just your regular restaurant and bar.”

With a population of about 230 residents, Gronski said she has used part of her platform as a business owner to “stick up” for small towns.

“Ladysmith is the biggest city in the county (with a population of about 3,000),” she said. “After that, it’s a bunch of small towns. I feel these small towns are the hubs for that big town, because if you get rid of all these small towns, your big town is soon going to be forgotten as well, right? Small towns are what our county and country are all about.”

Revitalizing the building

Though the Farmhouse has only been open for about two years, Gronski said the building at W14370 Railway Ave. was a restaurant in years past.

Once called Wendy’s Whistle Stop, she said it closed in 2018.

After the building sat vacant for about five years, Gronski said that’s when she and her husband revitalized it.

“We purchased it May 9, 2023,” she said. “Essentially, it was not a running business – it was a blank slate for us. I have worked in the restaurant industry off and on for years, and I love cooking for people and planning events and different things like that.”

With the building available for purchase, Gronski said she talked with her husband about it, and “the rest is history.”

“He works for the Rusk County Sheriff’s Department, and he said, ‘Do what you want to do. It’s fine. I’ll support you however you need,’” she said.

Gronski said the building needed some work to bring it back up to par.

“We had to purchase some new kitchen equipment because some things didn’t work that we thought worked and broke down the night before we opened,” she laughed. “We also redid the beer cooler that was in pretty rough shape. There is also a big mural in there that had a train with the depot on it, and that took some work.”

Gronski, who grew up in Weyerhaeuser, said the mural is a nod to the small village’s legacy.

“The village was named after Frederick Weyerhaeuser of the Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company,” she said. “Trains are a big part of the legacy of Weyerhaeuser and how it all began. I didn’t want to paint over the entire mural, so we painted over the depot. Another gal came in and painted a farm scene on there with my mom and dad’s barn – hence the name of the restaurant. There is also an upstairs living quarters, but we built a wall to section that off so people can’t just walk up there for fun.”

Small-town proud

Gronski said one of the goals of the Farmhouse is not only to serve delicious food, but to keep prices reasonable.

With increased costs, she said she recognizes it’s tough for a family to afford going out to eat.

“We like to go out to eat on occasion, but everything is just so dang expensive,” she said. “We’ve got three kids, and you go out to eat, and it’s $100-200 to have a nice meal. We are more about home-cooked meals that are quick and easy. I want families to be able to afford some place that is reasonably priced.”

Gronski said the Farmhouse’s Friday Night Fish Fry is “very popular” and “has come a long way” in the past two years.

“We try to be different from what everybody else is doing,” she said. “We don’t buy fish pre-battered. We offer cod, scallops and tiger shrimp, and now perch and catfish and things like that – just to be different from what everybody else is doing.”

Gronski said the Farmhouse also has periodic specials.

“A few weeks ago, we got slammed because I did beef tips and gravy over mashed potatoes,” she said. “People saw our Facebook post and said, ‘That’s why we are here.’ I think people are missing that family time, and I think we can offer that at a reasonable price. We also have a little kids’ area with several Little Golden Books.”

Though the Farmhouse gets some locals, Gronski said they also get a lot of people from “all over.”

“We have locals who do the breakfast on Thursday and Friday and the Sunday after-church crowd,” she said. “After running things for a while, we also adjusted our hours. We didn’t want to sit here 16 hours a day for five people coming in during the afternoon. From a business perspective, that wasn’t worth it. We try to be as accommodating as possible and post updates as often as possible and change our voicemail (recording).”

Hours for the Farmhouse, Gronski said, are 7 a.m. to noon on Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 8:30-11 a.m. on Sundays.

“We used to be open until 3 p.m. on Sundays, and then on Mondays, we were open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. as well, but it got to where we didn’t have the customer base to support those hours – that was eating up any kind of profit we made,” she said.

Gronski said she also takes pride in working with other small businesses in town.

“A good example (of this) is Barney’s Meats,” she said. “They started in October 2023, shortly after we did, and we’ve been getting our hamburger from them – we get it fresh ground. It’s nice to have another small business in the same boat you are. We are making it a goal to help each other in any way we can.”

In addition to a full kitchen, Gronski said the Farmhouse has a full bar.

“I think we’re known for some really good old fashioneds and margaritas, and then we also have our specialty drink menu, too,” she said. “With some of our food and drink selections, people like that we have corny names for them.”

A quick search on the Farmhouse’s website shows patrons can order The Pig Sty, The Hay Wagon, The Cows Are Out, Grandpa’s Favorite and Grandma’s Favorite.

For even more details, head to Farmhouse Restaurant & Bar’s Facebook page.