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Gov. Thompson Remembers Al Johnson

Al Johnson’s everyman, blunt personality stood in stark contrast to the widespread influence his restaurant achieved. When an employee fell ill with hepatitis contracted during a Mexican vacation in February of 1987, Al voluntarily closed the restaurant. When it came time to re-open, his pull was on full display.

There for the re-opening was the secretary of the Wisconsin Health and Social Services Department Secretary, State Sen. Alan Lasee, State Rep. Lary Swoboda, and then Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson.

Thompson said the crisis revealed a lot about Al’s character.

“You learn a lot about people when they’re under stress,” Thompson said when reached by phone in Washington D.C. June 16. “The way Al handled the situation with class and diplomacy in a difficult time was extraordinary. It was a great opportunity to get to know Al the person.”

Johnson worked with state officials to earn a clean bill of health for the restaurant, and when the coast was clear, Thompson gave the restaurant a powerful endorsement.

“I wanted to show the people of Wisconsin and Door County that the restaurant was a place we should support,” Thompson remembered. With Al’s death, Thompson said the state has lost one of its true originals.

“We lost a great one. Al was a restaurateur extraordinaire, with that special flair to promote his business. Al Johnson will go down in the annals of Wisconsin as one of the leading entrepreneurs and civic leaders in the history of Door County and Wisconsin.”