Beastro & Barley, formerly Touchdown Tavern, Town Club Bar or Roper's City Hotel, is a restaurant and bar in a historic hotel building in the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

style at 125 East Main Street in

Reedsburg, Wisconsin Reedsburg is a city in Sauk County, Wisconsin Sauk County is a county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. The cou ...

, United States. The two-storey

red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

structure with stone trim and a mansard roof was designed by Edward M. Hackett and constructed in 1886 for $10,000. It includes arched window frames, brick detailing on the facade and a small porch with ornamental metal balustrade on the second floor. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

for

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in 1984. The PDF file for this National Register record has not yet been digitized. It was built by the Reedsburg Building & Lumber Co. The building now houses the Beastro & Barley restaurant and bar downstairs and a single large apartment upstairs. Beastro & Barley is known for its trademarked "Reedsburger", a hamburger prepared with locally sourced Bison. The restaurant also houses the "Agnes Moorehead Lounge", an exhibit of memorabilia from

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

's career in radio, stage, television and movies, including as the witch

mother-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-la ...

on the television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' Bewitched''. Beastro & Barley is one of the venues for Reedsburg's

Fermentation Fest Fermentation Fest is a 10-day celebration of farming, food, and art in Reedsburg, and Sauk County, Wisconsin. It was established in 2010 based on a Smithsonian Institution travelling exhibit titled "Key Ingredients: America by Food" and includes ...

History

Roper's City Hotel was built in 1886 on Main Street. The hotel had 17 guest rooms, and a main dining room. William Roper retired in 1909, and he sold the building to another family. The new owners remodeled the interior. For the next 40 years, the building would be sold from owner to owner, but they all kept using it as a hotel. In 1945, the building was again remodeled, and renamed to the Reedsburg Hotel. The Reedsburg Hotel kept the same exterior, but only had 13 guest rooms, and a spot for Zobel's Tavern. The Reedsburg Hotel would continue until the 1960s. In the 1960s, the name was changed to Town Club & Bar, and was primarily a bar, and no longer had hotel accommodations. The Town Club & Bar would continue until the 1970s, in which the name was changed to the Town Club Bar. In 1984, it was listed on the

for

. In the early 2000s, the building was purchased and became the home for the Touchdown Tavern. The restaurant would continue for 15 years, and in 2020 the name was changed to Beastro & Barley. The new restaurant is a continuation of the old Touchdown Tavern, with a focus on a more high quality experience.

References

External links

"Beastro & Barley"
* 1886 establishments in Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Sauk County, Wisconsin Hotel buildings completed in 1886 Hotels established in 1886 Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Second Empire architecture in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Sauk County, Wisconsin Reedsburg, Wisconsin {{DEFAULTSORT:Beastro and Barley

History

See also

References

External links