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Last call at Ed's Cafe
The restaurant closes after 52 years of hot beef sandwiches and strawberry shortcake.
Poller family
Clayton and Kathy Poller (from left) employed all three of their children, Tammy, Brad and Jamie, who was the restaurants manager for several years.

PLATTEVILLE — Ed’s Café is, or was, a throwback in a number of different ways.

The building at 115 E. Business 151 is located on what used to be U.S. 151 before the 151 freeway opened in 2005. Next door is Platteville Shell, which used to be a service station before it became a convenience store.

The menu has changed little in the past five decades — hot beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy, French fried chicken, country fried steak, burgers, tater tot casserole, and desserts almost all made from scratch.

On Sunday, 52½ years after the restaurant opened, Ed’s Café closed for the last time. The restaurant’s losing its lease promoted owners Clayton and Kathy Poller to retire. An auction of the restaurant’s equipment will be held Thursday, and the Pollers will vacate the restaurant Sunday.

“It’s been a lot of people feeling really, shall I say, upset about what they’re going to do when we’re gone,” said Clayton Poller. “Some little old ladies have been crying on my shoulder, which is a little tough to take.”

One customer told Clayton “I don’t get here near enough” at lunch on Friday.

Barb Daus came to eat lunch Friday. The former UW–Platteville alumni director once filled a request from an early 1990s UWP alumnus to ship a container of the restaurant’s chili to his home in West Virginia.

The throwback feeling extended to its last days. A number of longtime customers visited, coming back to Platteville from as far as California, New Jersey and Wyoming. A number of former employees “came back to work the last couple days just to be here,” he said. “I had two cooks worked here a lot of years; they’re coming back so we don’t have to cook the last weekend.”

One longtime employee there for the last days was Joyce Alt, 80, who worked at Ed’s for more than 50 years as a cook and waitress.

“It makes it easier when you have somebody who’s so dependable,” said Kathy. “And then you have those everyday customers. We have one customer that goes and gets the ice and makes the coffee.”

“Ed” was Ed Hinderman, the restaurant’s original owner, who opened the restaurant the day after Thanksgiving 1959 but died in the early 1960s. Hinderman’s manager, Florence Gardner, purchased the restaurant after Hinderman’s death when Kathy was nine years old.

Clayton Poller came to Platteville as a UW–Platteville student when Gardner offered the restaurant to him after graduation.

“I told him it was up to him because I wanted nothing to do with it,” she said. “I married me a college man to take me away.”

“It’s basically Kathy and me,” said Clayton. “We usually closed three times a year for a week or so. We’d open at 5:30; we’d get here at 5 and there’d be people waiting at the door.”

The Pollers’ children worked at the restaurant. Their daughter, Tammy Jantzen, was there for the weekend with her own granddaughter, Alivia Gardner of Platteville.

“The restaurant should not be, but the kids had to live through the restaurant coming first,” said Kathy. “The kids survived.”

The menu hasn’t changed much over the years. The most popular breakfast item was omelets. Kathy said the best lunch and dinner item was the hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy.

“This isn’t a fancy place, so it’s still soups, salads,” said Kathy. “Weekend is definitely a breakfast thing.
“You’d have people who would come in and suggest things — sourdough bread. And people would come in and eat it, and now nobody does.”

Clayton made all the restaurant’s dinner and sweet rolls by hand. “And he’s not going to be sorry to see that end,” said Kathy.

Kathy made desserts. The most popular one last weekend seemed to be strawberry shortcake, but, she said, “I think I make pretty good cakes other than that.”

In its last days Ed’s was down to 12 employees, about half what it usually had.

“This place was more like a truck stop,” said Kathy. “They used to fix vehicles next door. And then the last few years it’s been more like a country store.”

Kathy can’t guess how many employees Ed’s has had over the years.

“I could count up to 1987, back when I had that all typed up,” she said. “And then I quit doing it.”

Their three children worked at the restaurant — Tammy, Brad and Jamie, who was the restaurant’s manager for many years. Two of their grandchildren, Jessica Welch and Steven Jantzen, also worked at the restaurant.

The move of 151 south of Platteville didn’t affect business appreciably.

“Our biggest business is local,” said Kathy. “You have those same faces day after day, and bless their hearts.”

Until Country Kitchen opened in the 1980s, Ed’s was open 24 hours a day.

“It was a bar crowd,” said Kathy. “Even as a younger child when Mom ran it, I used to dread phone calls at night.”

One night, a group of diners started a food fight. Platteville police were called, and 17 people were arrested. The disorderly diners were booked at the Platteville police station, and came right back to Ed’s.

“When we were open on the night shift, a guy shot a hole through the door,” said Clayton. “We had a lot of streakers” during the 1970 streaking craze.

One diner rode his motorcycle into the restaurant. Another person brought a horse into the restaurant.

Closing the night shift “was one of the better things we did,” said Kathy.

Ed’s never had a fire, but a service technician checking the fire extinguisher system once accidentally set it off. When the Pollers were gone, Jantzen once set it off when she became concerned about flame underneath one of the grills.

“We had to wash every dish,” she said. “It was a mess.”

Ed’s once served as the local nerve center for power line repairs after an ice storm. The utility asked by promising to restore the restaurant’s power as soon as they could.

“They got me power right away, and we stayed open,” said Clayton.

“People would be stranded here all the time,” said Kathy. “There were people that ended up sitting here all night waiting for the plows to come.”

With the restaurant’s closing, the Pollers are planning to travel to the West in November, then to visit their son in Tennessee and Disney World.

“That’s Clayton’s playground,” said Kathy. “I think it’s our 15th trip to Disney World. And we’re already working on next year. I hope we can stay busy enough to not think about working for a while.”

Independent-Scout, 2024 Year in Review
January through July
2024 Year in Review

JANUARY

Historic low flows turned the Mississippi River into a construction area in 2023, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged huge quantities of sand to keep the channel open for barge traffic. Massive machines like the Dredge Goetz, a 225-foot-long vessel with a suction pipe nearly two feet wide, were moving through the river constantly to keep it clear… A Connect Communities proposal to apply for a grant to study constructing a pavilion over the current plaza area, located east of the Gays Mills Mercantile Center, was presented to the board by Martha Querin-Schultz. Querin-Schultz explained the proposal for a Mercantile-pavilion area came out of discussions last year, where dreams and projects were discussed among members of the group. She noted that Connect Communities was recognized by the Wisconsin development Corporation… Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) staff attended a meeting in Viroqua on Thursday, Jan. 11, to update local zoning and emergency management staff about the project to re-map the Kickapoo River Watershed floodplain. The reaches of the river to be re-mapped are from Ontario to Wauzeka… New owners and residents of Gays Mills, Arthur and Sarah Winsor with their children, Austin and Vayla, took ownership of Strang’s Plumbing, Heating, and Electric on the company’s 120th year. In 1904, Strang’s got its start in Richland County, and now 120 years later, Strang’s has found new ownership. Arthur and Sarah Winsor, residents of Gays Mills have taken on the century old company with plans to keep the same locally friendly service while improving on the latest in home mechanicals.

 

 

 

FEBRUARY

Multiple charges have been levied against a 37-year-old man for a physical altercation that took place on Dec. 9, 2023 at the Boondocks Sports Bar and Grill in Wauzeka. James Scherer, Wauzeka, has been charged with Disorderly Conduct and Physical Abuse of an Elderly Person-Intentionally Causing Bodily Harm, after he engaged in two fights on the bar’s property… In the Seneca Area School District, five candidates have registered to run for two open board seats. One of those running is incumbent Charles Clark. The other incumbent, Tyler Aspenson, decided to not run again. The other four candidates running are Eric Grimsled, Jennifer Aspenson, Kyle Berger and Sara Wall. Only Grimsled has run for the board previously. Because five candidates are running for two open seats, a primary election must be held on Tuesday, February 20, only the top four voter getters will appear on the spring ballot… North Crawford Playhouse is thrilled to present William Shakespeare’s timeless comedy, ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’ With plenty of humor, a good dose of romance, and a hefty portion of mischief, this delightful production will leave audiences feeling happy and uplifted… Quick reaction by the Gays Mills Fire Department may have prevented more massive damage from a fire at an apartment building located on Watermelon Way early Monday morning. At approximately 3 a.m., Gays Mills Fire Chief Earl Winsor and firefighter Adam McCarn arrived at the scene of the fire at 205 Watermelon Way, the residence of Sarah Boardman… Did you receive an ‘Emergency Call’ at 3:33 p.m. on Sunday? We did. The recorded voice of a Crawford County 911 Dispatcher told us the Black Hawk Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing, Iowa would be closed to traffic shortly because of safety concerns.

 

MARCH

Crawford County Health and Human Services and the Driftless Region Mental Health Coalition have partnered with ‘CredibleMind’ to provide residents with a digital health and well-being platform… The platform, available free of charge, offers confidential and anonymous access 24/7, allows users to explore, understand, and enhance their mental health… There’s good news for those that have had their lives turned upside down by the closure of the Lansing Bridge. Plans are moving ahead to begin to provide a water taxi service over the navigation channel, running from Lansing to the Will Dilg Boat Landing on the Lansing Dike… It was another good year for the Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout at the annual newspaper awards banquet in Madison. The Independent-Scout won 16 awards in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association ‘Better Newspaper Contest.’ “It’s always nice to have your work recognized by your peers,” Independent-Scout editor Charley Preusser said. “However, the real judges are the people reading our paper every week.”… At their March 12 meeting, members of the Crawford County Land Conservation Committee tackled a variety of issues. Ongoing efforts to bring county septic systems into compliance with state law were discussed, as well as potential changes to county ordinances, a well water quality and geology study, and a tire clean up event… The North Crawford School Board reveled in the success of the district’s winter athletic teams at their meeting on March 20. The boys basketball team tied for first place in the Ridge & Valley Conference, the North Crawford-Seneca Wrestling co-op team sent two girls and one boy to the state tournament, and the girls basketball team enjoyed a successful year building for the future.

 

APRIL

After record-setting high temperatures experienced in the winter of 2023-24, and ongoing drought conditions, local farmers are facing a variety of challenges as the growing season approaches. Those challenges include planting decisions and forage production issues, as well as the timing and selection of inputs. The National Weather Service La Crosse recently reported that from April 1, 2023, through March 26, 2024, precipitation departures range from near-normal to 11 inches below normal north of Interstate 90, and from eight to just over 20 inches below normal across the remainder of the area to the south of I-90… A local contractor, Tug Sprosty, was awarded the contract to build the ag projects shed for the Seneca Area School District at the board meeting held Monday, March 18. Sprosty’s bid of $32,000 was significantly lower than Clary Building’s bid of $44,200, and some other local bids around $43,000. There was some concern that the bids were for constructing the same structure to requirements as laid out… Ever wonder who to turn to if you find an injured or ailing raptor? Wonder no more. Dr. Laura Johnson, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine has the answers for you. Dr. Johnson works part-time for Tender Care Animal Hospital in Prairie du Chien. This leaves her plenty of time for her other practice – raptor rescue. “I’m the only vet in the tri-state area that specializes in and sees birds as patients,” Johnson told the Independent-Scout… Iowa DOT has some great news when it comes to repairing the existing Blackhawk Bridge at Lansing. The two new piers are done, and all four bridge deck spans are back in place. “In February and March, we removed four sections of the bridge deck in order to repair the damaged piers,” Iowa DOT’s Clayton Burke told a group assembled for a ‘Bridge Update’ at the Meehan Memorial Library in Lansing on April 10… When the Prairie du Chien Area Arts Center hosted a Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) Hearing on the evening of April 8, Patrick Short, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) fisheries biologist, presented reports on wildlife disease, water contaminants and budget deficits to the public.

 

MAY

The time is approaching for the La Crosse, Monroe and Vernon county boards to make a final decision about the USDA-NRCS proposal to decommission flood control dams in the West Fork Kickapoo and Coon Creek watersheds. It is anticipated that the Land Conservation Committees in each county will make a recommendation to their county boards in May, and then each of the three Boards of Supervisors will vote on the proposal at their June meetings… Last week, a coalition of environmental groups, The Iowa Environmental Coalition (IEC), filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging the state isn’t doing enough to protect drinking water supplies from nitrate pollution. The group states the problem is particularly severe in the northeast region of the state, with its underlying karst geology. The carbonate bedrock typical in regions with karst geology is cracked and fissured limestone or sandstone that quickly conducts contaminants from the surface into the aquifers below…  Get ready for an evening of dazzling performances and toe tapping tunes as the North Crawford Playhouse presents their latest production. Aptly titled ‘One Night Only,’ the showcase will run for just one performance on Wednesday, May 22. The show will feature a dynamic lineup of songs from a variety of beloved musicals, exhibiting the talents of the North Crawford performing arts students. From classic Broadway hits to contemporary favorites, there’s something for all ages in this exciting performance… The Seneca Area School District announced the Seneca High School Valedictorian is Kylie Stluka and the Salutatorian is Nadia Jo Klema… After a dry year in 2024, with welcome rains once again falling in our area, it seems timely for our communities to think about the possibility of flooding. During times of flooding, local citizens have identified reliable sources of information that can help them in planning for and responding to flooding events, especially those available from the National Weather Service… North Crawford High School’s Class of 2024 Valedictorian is Sarah Bransky and the 2024 North Crawford Salutatorian is Nathan Zirk… Crawford County has been selected to host the 78th Alice in Dairyland Finals in May 2025. An announcement will be made by Carol Roth and Stephanie Binversie, Alice in Dairyland Finals Co-Chairs, along with Ashley Hagenow, the reigning Alice in Dairyland, at the Crawford County Dairy Breakfast on Saturday, June 1, at 8 a.m. The Dairy Breakfast will take place at the Crawford County Fairgrounds this year, with breakfast served from 6 to 10 a.m.

 

JUNE

After a brief discussion at their meeting on Monday, May 20, the Seneca School Board approved open enrollment for 10 students coming into the district and denied the open enrollment applications of two others seeking to come into the district.  The board also approved ‘outbound’ open enrollment applications for five other students seeking to enroll in other districts… About 15 members of the Ferryville, Soldiers Grove, and Gays Mills fire departments and emergency rescue teams gathered on Saturday, June 8, for a Grain Bin Rescue Training. The training had a classroom component in the morning, and then an operations training after that. Instruction was provided by Karl Sandry, Southwest Technical College Lead Fire Instructor, and conducted at the site of grain bins owned by Swede Knutson… The Soldiers Grove Village Board heard a presentation from and voted to retain the services of Nikki Swayne of Abt Swayne Law in Westby as their new village attorney. At the board’s June 11 meeting, Swayne introduced herself and discussed the terms of the contract she proposed. The village was previously represented by Attorney Eileen Brownlee, who has retired… The Gays Mills Swimming Pool is back and in full swing this summer. An average of 40 to 60 children flock to the outdoor pool each day to escape the June heat. In addition to its recreational facilities, the pool offers swimming lessons throughout the summer.