Business of the Year: The Garage

Wausau Pilot & Review

This year, we had the good fortune to highlight 50 of the area’s locally-owned organizations in our weekly business feature. Each of those businesses, from sweet shops to restaurants to nonprofit organizations to credit unions, plays an integral role in the ongoing success of our community. We delighted in hearing about their services, their hopes and dreams and the many ways in which they make the Wausau area a flourishing, marvelous place to live and work. At the close of 2022, we raise a glass to all our locally-owned establishments in the area, to the services you provide and the hard work you do. We appreciate each and every one of you.

As we have in the past, we now celebrate our Business of the Year, The Garage. More readers read, shared and engaged with this story than any other feature in 2022. Thanks to the team at The Garage for their support – and thanks to all the readers who make this publication possible each year. Here is the original story that first ran on Nov. 11 in Wausau Pilot & Review. Congratulations!

Editor’s note: Business of the Week is a sponsored feature that shares the stories of locally-owned and operated businesses in the Wausau area, highlighting the products and services they offer and the ways they contribute to the metro area’s unique flavor. Learn how to feature your business by emailing christina@wausaupilotandreview.com.

Business of the Week: The Garage

This week’s featured Wausau-area business is one of the area’s newest, coolest and most laid-back hangouts. The Garage, 152501 Morning Glory Lane, opened just under a year ago in Rib Mountain in a former muffler shop that was completely transformed into a comfortable and spacious spot to gather for a drink and a bite with friends. It’s also a great place to stop after a day of browsing the many shops and stores along the Rib Mountain Drive corridor, or skiing at Granite Peak. The entrepreneurial spirit comes naturally for owners Bob and Megan Lamovec – the couple has either bought or started nearly 10 different entities in the last 15 years, all of which helped prepare them for this ambitious venture.

What to expect when you enter The Garage? A lively, vibrant, open area with a can’t miss centerpiece: a 1962 Studebaker Lark suspended from the ceiling. The car was rescued from a relative’s field in St. Louis before it was built into its current space above the stage. Videos play on giant screens, with free popcorn and nachos for all and plenty of seating. GM Chris Lemmer, along with Asst. Managers Dan Vaugh and Heather Swanson, lead a team of more than 25 employees who serve up an amazing array of craft beer, cocktails and huge smiles from behind the one-of-a-kind, custom wrench-shaped bar that encourages conversation among friends both old and new.

In the warmer months, giant doors open to a beautifully-designed outdoor space complete with tables, comfortable chairs, fire features and even trees. But the outdoor fun doesn’t stop when cold weather hits. This year, watch for the area’s first ice bar alongside patio heaters and roaring fires, the perfect spot to spend an afternoon or evening.

Until recently, The Garage served only frozen pizzas and hosted food trucks on-site on select nights. But now, thanks to a partnership with Hoehn’s Huddle, a permanent food truck serves an array of delicious eats to enjoy seven nights a week – and during the lunch hour as well. The Garage is truly one of our favorite “must stop” spots – be sure to give it a try, especially their award-winning Bloody Mary. You won’t be disappointed.

Here, Bob shares the history of The Garage, what to expect when you walk through the door, and information about their many special events to watch for. Cheers!

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What drew you to this business and why did this location seem like the right one?

We moved to Rib Mountain in the fall of ’19 from Schofield and quickly realized the need for another bar in the area. We often found ourselves looking for a place to have a nightcap drink after dinner when most places in Rib Mountain would shut down at 9 or 10 p.m. The location was key because it has the draw of Rib Mountain Drive, but without the higher real estate costs associated with it. We liked that it was close to an area not currently being served by any other bar/tavern type establishment. The only place to go for a drink prior to us opening in the area were chain restaurants.

How did you come up with the garage concept?

The building was originally a muffler shop, so the overhead doors were already in the building. We wanted to offer a themed bar that you might find in a bigger city. Car parts are pretty easy to come by and fairly inexpensive compared to other décor, so it became an easy decision to keep with the automotive theme.

Tell us about the design of the building and what makes it so special. I did a bunch of market research by sitting at other local and regional bars, having a drink and making notes about what I did and didn’t like. For example, I loved (and still do) the circular shape of the bar at The Palms. I was sitting there thinking, “This is great! You can chat across the bar, it lends itself to a unique bartending scenario and best of all, you get to use Pi to increase the number of seats!” So, I began sketching out two circular bars that were connected; bringing in the automotive theme, it became a wrench-shaped bar. We wanted the wrench-shaped bar to be the focal point of the space. 

What do you want people to experience when they walk through the door – and what is the experience like?

We can always tell when it’s someone’s first time through the door. The telltale sign is their slowed pace as they enter the main bar area, slowly looking up at all of the car parts and décor; they eventually make it up to the bar to order a drink or food. I absolutely love watching that and hearing the comments about the design that took many long hours and many friends, family, and contractors to complete. Our demographic is very diverse and that’s one comment we often hear – people are amazed at the diversity of the bar patrons at any given time. During the day, the music videos are classic rock hits that everyone knows at a volume level where you can hold a conversation, but also enjoy the great tunes. Later at night, the crowd turns a bit younger and the volume gets turned up to create a more party like experience. But don’t be surprised to see your grandma in here late at night once in a while! We keep it fun for all ages!

Tell us more about your outdoor space. It’s pretty cool.

The outdoor space has been a hit! We knew we wanted a large patio directly outside the garage doors and designed it in a way that makes you feel comfortable and relaxed even though you’re sitting on a patio behind a strip mall near one of the busiest roads in town. We worked further to bring in some features to the patio that help create the ambience you’d typically only see in a bigger city, such as artificial illuminated trees, misting systems for hot days, shade sails, and year-round outdoor TV’s. Even on days when the weather is less than ideal, many of our patrons ask us to open the doors even if it means they may need to wear a pullover or jacket. The ambience created with the doors open is very special. This winter we will be adding heaters to the patio and keeping the fire tables roaring. In addition, the TV’s and music will be on to create an outdoor drinking area. Last year we had 3 igloos on the patio, but bringing service to them on busy nights created a unique challenge. So, this year we will not be putting up the igloos; instead, we are going to build what we believe to be the Wausau area’s first ice bar! Current plans allow for seating of about 20+ and it will be staffed on busy nights, creating a the very unique experience of being able to enjoy the heated outdoor patio year-round!

What are some of the things that draw people in? You have an extensive beer list, for example, and the free popcorn and nachos are a big hit.

We recently had to upgrade our free nacho bar due to its popularity. Many people have asked why we did that offer these complimentary items, and our answer is, “why not?! Who doesn’t love free nachos?!” The same goes for popcorn. Another big reason for the free snacks is that when we opened, we only served frozen pizza and allowed people to carry in food. That has since changed with the food truck. Regarding the beer list, we work hard to ensure we are continuously bringing in some unique and flavorful beers. We have a 24-line glycol cooled draft system which brings beer to the tap at 32 degrees. We designed our system to carry the most popular domestic beers and ciders on about half of the lines and the rest rotate between different local, regional and national brands. Alongside the draft system, we feature an extensive list of canned and bottled seltzers, ciders, and beers totaling nearly 100 options, plus a full assortment of spirits.

Another unique aspect that we brought into The Garage is one of the area’s most advanced audio and visual systems. Whether watching music videos or your favorite sports teams, we have plenty of TV’s for your viewing pleasure all controlled by a state-of-the-art controller ensuring that all TV’s are in sync. No longer will the people watching a different TV cheer at a play you haven’t seen yet because they saw it first due to TV lag. We also chose not to install a jukebox; this was a controversial decision at first and one that many of our initial patrons didn’t like. We are very particular about our atmosphere and a large part of a bar’s atmosphere is the music. We control it to help keep a consistent atmosphere and so you don’t have to sit and listen to some screaming heavy-metal or some inappropriate rap song. During the majority of our open hours it’s (almost) always family friendly with songs that almost everyone likes or knows.

You have a fabulous new food truck feature. Tell us about that partnership – how did that happen:

Our original business plan was created around having rotating local and regional food trucks onsite as many days of the week as possible. We did that well throughout the first 6-9 months but quickly realized that there were some issues with that model. Trying to get someone on a Friday or Saturday proved to be fairly easy. But, getting the other nights of the week filled up was a huge challenge. Food truck operators just didn’t want to cook some nights as they maybe cooked elsewhere during the day. In addition, almost all food trucks operators shut down during the winter due to cold-weather challenges such as getting water to the truck in freezing temperatures. The idea came to truly solve these two issues, consistency through the week and consistency through the year; we wanted our patrons to have food options daily. And now we do. The partnership with Hoehn’s Huddle came about by pure circumstance as I was at Hoehn’s Huddle enjoying some of their wings when a conversation sprung up about what’s new at The Garage. I was talking with Troy, the GM of Hoehn’s Huddle, about our plan and he simply said “Why not let us do it for you?!” That simple question was the start to our partnership and the rest is history.  You can get the same award-winning, quality food that Hoehn’s Huddle offers at their place, now at The Garage, and now 7-days a week including lunch. The other great thing about having our own food truck in-house is that it streamlines the ordering and eating experience for the customer. In the past, you would have to order at the food truck, pay a separate bill than your tab inside (usually with cash only) and then wait around outside for your food. Now, you can order at the bar, have the food added to your tab, and the food is brought right to where you’re sitting. Patrons get to fill out a paper menu with a crayon to place their food order, similar to our Bloody Mary menus. This frees up our staff to keep serving others while you decide on what you’d like to eat. It’s a bit different than any other bar/restaurant in town and I think that’s part of its success.

Do you do anything special for Packer games or other sports – and what about special events?

Depending on the sport and team, we do offer drink and food specials during the games. These are often announced the day of the game in the bar so you’ll have to come on down to find out the specials! As far as other events, we have live music every week. Sometimes we’ll have one act either Friday or Saturday, sometimes music both nights, and maybe even a Sunday afternoon show. We also host trivia on Tuesdays, Bingo on Wednesdays and we’ll be starting something on Mondays, but we’re going to keep that a secret for a little bit yet. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for upcoming special events!

Have you found staff recruitment to be difficult in this environment? Your staff is well known for its friendly faces and smiles – how did you choose the right people to ensure people feel welcome?

I think everyone right now is experiencing staffing issues but we’ve been fortunate to have really great staff, including several who have been with us since we opened. During onboarding, we have many conversations about our atmosphere and how we want our patrons to enjoy themselves in a fun and safe environment.

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