‘We want people to feel like they’re on vacation while they’re here’

Matthew Day

Staff

July 21, 2025

CHIPPEWA FALLS – A new era has begun in Chippewa Falls, as the historic property at 9504 County Highway S has been reimagined, renovated and rechristened as 1917 Lake Wissota. 

Jason Darley said he and ownership partners Darrin Senn, Kim Senn and William “Loopy” Kleich have refreshed the establishment – which last operated as The Edge Pub & Eatery – on the shore of its new namesake. 

Darley said the name – which includes the year Lake Wissota (a portmanteau of Wisconsin and Minnesota) was created by damming the Chippewa River – also acknowledges the location’s legacy, as the partners sought to honor its history and carry over its friendly spirit. 

When the owner of The Edge, Al Grube, decided to retire after more than 15 years running it, Darley said “it was the end of a chapter,” but the partners have managed to please former patrons with an updated building, and 1917 Lake Wissota’s amenities, accessibility and menu. 

“We’ve retained all the regulars, if you will,” he said. “You know: the guy who’s retired who comes in for a Bloody [Mary] and a beer at 11 every day – those types of people are still there.”

Though there were concerns that “we were going to go a little too bougie,” Darley said 1917 Lake Wissota’s upscale menu is accompanied by “a ‘come as you are’ attitude and feel.”

“The remodel is kind of classy, but it’s not ‘white tablecloth’ inside,” he said.

Opening less than two months ago, Darley said thus far, the reception from locals and tourists alike has been “excellent.” 

“We’ve got people who have been here nearly every day since we’ve been open,” he said. “They basically threw away their cooking stuff because they love it [here]. I personally don’t have the checkbook for that, but I’m glad somebody does.” 

On the restaurant’s lunch and dinner menu, Darley said “we’ve got everything – from grown-up grilled cheese to an eight-ounce filet,” as well as popular pizzas and flatbreads. 

Outside, he said 1917 features The Spillway – “a food truck on steroids” – which offers ice cream and a rotating menu of creative specials (Mexican street corn dusted with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, for example) “that wouldn’t be on our normal dinner menu or entree menu.” 

Upon opening, Darley said it was important to ensure 1917 was “reasonably priced… not prohibitive.” 

“You’re going to eat like you’re in an upscale restaurant, but you’re basically going to pay like you’re at the corner bar,” he said. 

Even in light of ornate renovations like a quartz bar top, Darley said a dress code would feel wrong for the restaurant. 

“If you want to wear a wet swimsuit in our dining room, go for it,” he said. “If you want to order a filet on the marina level, and people at your table want to eat out of The Spillway, go for it. It’s all good.” 

Darley said the partners’ mantra as they’ve remade the building, its menu and its staff, has been to “elevate and execute.” 

“Darrin Senn at one point said, ‘Look, we want people to feel like they’re on vacation while they’re here,’” he said. “And that’s truly the vibe we try to put out there.” 

Up to, and beyond The Edge 

Darley said 1917’s location benefits not only from its lakeshore but from the nearby state park and golf course, as well as the prominent bridge that inspired one of its precursor establishments, the Silver Bridge Bar. 

Because he grew up near Lake Wissota, Darley said he has strong knowledge of the region’s past. 

“I can give you the history of the place back to the 1800s, basically,” he said. “The original site was a trading post for the French and Indian fur trade – that’s how far the history goes back on this place. But then it became a bar named Stickney & Ray’s, which incidentally and ironically… burnt down in 1917, the first year they had the lake there. But that’s the first time it was a bar that we’re aware of, and [the location’s had] several names since then.” 

Darley said his own history there began as a first-time bartender 25 years ago. 

He said around that time he also took on his first cooking position, hired by none other than Al Grube, whose general manager was future 1917 partner, Loopy. 

“So, yeah, [Loopy and I] have known [Grube] for a long time,” he said. 

Darley, whose full-time career is in real estate, said he always stayed in touch with Grube, later buying a house on Lake Wissota and frequenting The Edge.  

Eventually, Darley said talks with Grube – by then in his 70s, having “been in the restaurant industry for all of his life” – turned to the establishment’s future, and how he was well suited to becoming its next steward. 

“I actually had a deal done for a couple of years with Al [to buy the business], but it was kind of a ‘when you’re ready [to retire]’-type of scenario,” he said. “Two Mays ago is when we shook hands on that and got a lot more serious… From that point, I recruited partners to invest and turn it into what it is today.” 

When Grube, whose nickname is “The Captain,” was ready to retire earlier this year, Darley said “we gave Al an opportunity to go sail the Seven Seas and be on his boat in Florida.” 

The Edge closed at the end of March, and Darley said after “a great going-away party for Al” featuring all 1917’s partners, they immediately set to work on its successor. 

Old meets new 

Darley said he and his partners closed on the transaction April 1, then threw themselves into remodeling and readying the restaurant ahead of an all-important summer season. 

“We remodeled about 6,000 square feet in 45 days – down to the studs – and hired more than 100 people and did six days of mandatory training for all of our staff before [we opened],” he said. 

One of the partners’ top priorities, Darley said, was improving the restaurant’s docks, which also feature gas pumps for boaters. 

“We have more than 70 slips there – we rent a portion of them annually, and we have about 25 of them for customer parking, [getting] in and out and gas,” he said. “The docks were old and tired, so we… ended up buying the best floating dock systems that money could buy.” 

Darley said he’s especially proud of the updates to the building and docks for the sake of the ADA community, as they’ve added railings, ramps and a wheelchair-accessible restroom to thereby provide all 1917’s visitors that “vacation vibe.” 

Private dining and spaces, he said, are also available to offer “a lot of options for customers.” 

“The way I look at restaurants is everything is based on the menu and the level of service that is provided, and our culture just grows from there,” he said. “We wanted to put together a menu so that people want to be here year-round. It’s not a seasonal place. Even though we have the marina and things like that, we want you here for your anniversary dinners and special occasions year-round.” 

Darley said he and the partners solicited professional consultants to develop fresh food and craft cocktail menus to keep customers coming back. 

“We brought [in] mixologists from the [Twin] Cities, [and] we had one of the top 50 chefs in Minnesota work with all [the] partners on creating a menu,” he said. “Every one of our sauces and everything [else are] all from scratch, aside from your tableside ketchup and mustard.” 

Developing 1917’s staff – or “crew,” as Darley said they call it – was just as serious an endeavor. 

“We have a lot invested in the training, and we were intentionally over-staffed to get started, so we gave customers what they deserve in terms of levels of service,” he said. 

The six days of training, Darley said, included scripts and roleplaying for customer service, taste-testing every item on the menu, studying and taking quizzes from 20-30-page employment manuals created for each position. 

“From host to head chef to dishwasher, all the way through managers, dock hands we have who fill up gas, wipe down boats and help people park – you name it, every position,” he said. “We were very thorough in giving them the tools to succeed.” 

“Titanic” trivia 

To best accommodate 1917’s capacity of 425, Darley said other investments have included a new marina-level patio with a stage for live music, as well as an updated lower-level bar area. 

The latter, he said, is called Dawson’s Pub – a nod to a script gaffe in the 1997 movie “Titanic.” 

In the film, protagonist Jack Dawson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) hails from Chippewa Falls, where he claims to have grown up ice fishing on Lake Wissota with his grandfather. 

Actual residents of Chippewa Falls, Darley said, find no shortage of amusement in noting the film’s events predate the lake’s formation by five years. 

“We might have to call Leonardo DiCaprio or have a Jack Dawson lookalike contest at our grand opening or something,” he laughed. “That’s kind of our trivia question, especially for locals who are old enough to know that story.” 

For dam shore 

Darley said with the location, its legacy and his and his partners’ investments in remodeling and training, there’s growing confidence the lakeside establishment will succeed. 

Between their individual sacrifices – such as “working 20 hours a day to make it happen… taking naps for the first 45 days at night” – and the great initial feedback, he said the four partners are finally getting to appreciate their efforts. 

“It’s getting to a point where we’ve been able to have some cocktails on the deck and take a deep breath,” he said. “We’re not saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got this’ or anything yet, but it’s getting closer to everything we want it to be… We’re seeing the light in the vision that we had from a partnership perspective, and that feels really good.” 

Darley said the appreciation expressed by customers has been their greatest source of validation. 

“We didn’t do this to make money – we all could have been just fine in our other careers,” he said. “This is something we did just for the Chippewa Valley – putting that investment into both the real estate and the assets that are there but also into our community, in the menu and the level of service and things we’re trying to bring.” 

Whether it’s boaters looking to get “elevated, good food right now, ice cream for the kids, a six-pack, gas and [to] be back on the water,” or visitors looking for an extended stay, Darley said he and his partners are “excited to share the experience we’ve tried to create for our community” at 1917 with [customers]. 

“It’s a place that’s ‘come as you are, eat and drink what you want,’” he said. “Our goal is to make sure that if you’re eating something, it’s the best around, and if you’re drinking something, you know it’s served with a smile.” 

Presently, 1917 Lake Wissota is open every day from 11 a.m. to close, though Darley said select brunch hours will debut soon.

Visit 1917lakewissota.com for more information.