Supper Club Program

The Egg Harbor Historical Society will present a free program Feb. 18 at 1 pm at the Kress Pavilion: “The History of Supper Clubs in Wisconsin and Door County.”

Wisconsin became the true home of the supper club, loosely defined as a usually family-owned restaurant with a bar specializing in brandy cocktails, a separate dining room serving traditional meat-and-potatoes fare and a focus on live music or other entertainment, which encourages patrons to turn their evening meal into a full night out.

Menu staples include a relish tray; generous portion of beef, poultry or fish whose price includes a salad and choice of potato; and housemade bread. Because of the large portion sizes for which supper clubs are famous, the doggie bag was introduced to American restaurant culture.

Supper clubs cropped up all over the peninsula in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s.