Bait and Ice Cream

I rode by this place just last week and already made a return trip, on a mission to find the quaint little shop by car.

Monona Bait & Ice Cream.

Just the name makes it sound like the kind of place I'm going to like.  The cute home on the corner started as a combined home and grocery store in 1936.  A nearby auto repair shop are the only two businesses allowed to continue in this nice lakeside neighborhood in Monona, a city on the east bank of the lake with the same name.

In the years that followed it became a bait shop and then another owner pushed out the front for some additional inside seating and sold ice cream as well.

Lucky people able to find the little shop on Winnequah Street will be struck by the checkerboard floor, marble counter, chairs and tables with a distinctive wire and wood design will feel like they're home in Pleasantville.  Or in a small north Wisconsin town.

You can order food from the grill too - burgers and chicken sandwiches.  They offer ice cream made at the University dairy (not to be missed) and a wonderful selection of fountain treats.

If you want to use the food as a break from fishing from shore or your boat - you can get food for fish too since the back half of the store has bait and a variety of fishing gear and lures.

After finally getting inside, I know now I need to plan a bike ride back in time around the lake that includes lunch and chocolate shake.

Maybe I'll see you there.