Welcome To Wheelers Bar & Grill and Campground!

Rod and Sheila House took possession of what will be known forever in the minds of many as "Hooterville Inn" more than two years ago on May 28, 2003. For the record, that's Mr. and Mrs. House, not Mr.and Mrs. Wheeler.

The name Wheelers comes from Rod's affinity for all things wheeled and fast. Or as he puts it "Anything that burns dead dinosaurs". For two months, the couple performed extensive remodeling to North Creek, Wisconsin's only business.

"Pretty much what we did is gut the place and start over", said Rod. All the while, the locals would pop by and ask when they would be opening, attesting to the noticeable vacuum created when the Hooterville tavern shut it's doors. Hooterville was the landmark tavern and store, with a least part of the structure bulit in 1934. A marker with that date was found during the renovation. On August 2. 2003 Wheelers doors were opened and a little life was breathed back into the small community.

Houses are springing up at a solid rate, and business at the bar and restaurant has given the couple a little breathing room. By the time they finished reconstructing the building, their bank account hovered at about the $200 mark. "We gambled everything we had on this place" said Rod. Although strictly speaking, not the gambling type, the term is fitting for the House's.

Rod is originally from Ohio but moved to Pine City, Minn., where he met Sheila. At the time he was a lead slot technician at Grand Casino Hinckley and she was a beverage server there. Rod fell in love with this part of Wisconsin while taking motorcycle rides with his cousin while living in Minnesota. "If your a motorcyclist, this is heaven," he said. I've ridden in 38 of (the lower) 48 states and it doesn't get much better than this.

One to bypass fast food restaurants, he wanted to have a Mom and Pop type bar and grill like the ones he and his cousin always looked for when they were riding the Wisconsin backroads. When the opportunity arose to move from Minnesota to work for better money at a casino in Tunica, Mississippi, he jumped. For the next seven years, Rod and Sheila tightened their belts and saved enough to buy a restaurant. So how does one living in the south find a restaurant to buy in Western Wisconsin? The Internet of course.

Rod's cousin Randy would scout out locations found on the Internet. When they came here to look at Hooterville Inn, Rod and Sheila noticed how few restaurants there are in the area. Since taking over, the House's have done a lot of new things to the building. For starters, they've added a kitchen. Which the original bar never had. Rod says that Wheelers is a restaurant first and tavern second. He and Sheila added video and pinball games to make it a more family friendly place.

Once settled in, Rod was ready to pursue what brought him to the area: motorcycling! Every Saturday, a cycling group meets at noon to take a countryside ride. Newcomers are encouraged to ride along and everyone is welcome. One problem for the fledgling group of riders was what roads to ride. A large wall map of Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties proved to be the solution.

Another problem, the point of origin, North Creek, wasn't on any map. The solution was, Rod made his own map and covered it in plexiglass. "I always teased everyone that I was going to put North Creek on the map, so I did," he said. Now his group meets at noon on Saturdays, has the days route clearly marked in erasable marker on the map. And if your small community is on the map, you need to have signs to let people know when they get there. He asked the Town of Arcadia, and they obliged.

" I wanted them to put 'North Creek,Wi. seating capacity 54' but they wouldn't do that." Rod said with a smile in his voice. Now North Creek has it's own signs. The newest addition to the bar and grill is the motorcycle campground built by Rod in the spring of 2006. It has a single bathroom with shower and room for 10 to 12 campsites with picnic tables and firepits.

Rod and his cousin and friends always tried to find a place to camp near a bar and grill when they came to the area, but usually couldn't find such a place. "It's nice to be able to ride all day and have a place to rest and relax without having to travel back and forth to eat and drink." Rod said.

The House's make their home in North Creek, above the bar. Their daughter Teresa lives in Arcadia and works in the bar. They are aided by a part-time bartender and two part-time waitress/cooks.
Sheila does most of the day time cooking and Rod is full time bartender. The grill is open from 11a.m. till 10p.m. seven days a week.