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Gays Mills bar under new ownership
A Dash of Driftless
New Owners M&M Bar
MIKE AND MELINDA EHDE are the new owners of M&M Bar on Main Street in Gays Mills (formrly J&J’s). The menu offered by the establishment will feature many local items, such as beef from Eastman Locker, feta cheese from the Mt. Sterling Co-op Creamery, and locally produced vegetables in season.

DRIFTLESS - There's a new kid in town! Mike and Melinda Ehde recently purchased M&M Bar located at 312 Main Street in downtown Gays Mills. They opened the doors with a full food menu, including appetizers, baskets, sandwiches, and pizzas this past January. 

In addition to slinging fine food and delectable drinks, Melinda works remotely for the Trane Company out of LaCrosse, and Mike owns and operates Ehde Construction in Eastman.

The couple had a dream to open a bar/restaurant. Their plan was to wait until retirement, but as life sometimes happens, plans changed. Melinda cheerfully explains, “this was supposed to be our retirement thing, like five years down the road, but the opportunity fell into our hands now and we decided to just go for it”.

The Ehdes have made some major investments in the kitchen, including the purchase of a Turbo Chef Pizza Oven, which cranks out made-from-scratch pizzas in five minutes. An array of pizzas, including a Hawaiian pizza and a Philly Steak pizza, are on the menu, in addition to garlic cheese bread which is cut in strips and dipped in zesty marinara sauce.

A wide variety of menu items are made from local sources. The Eastman Locker provides the ground beef for their juicy burgers, as well as the BBQ beef brisket, which is smoked with BBQ flavor, for their scrumptious hoagie sandwiches. 

Their Greek pizza is topped with the rich flavor of feta cheese crafted at the Mt Sterling Co-op Creamery. During the gardening season, veggies will be purchased from growers at our local farmers market. 

Driftless Brewing Company tops the charts with both Dirt, a smooth brown ale, and Local Buzz, a golden blonde ale made with local Kickapoo honey, served on tap.

M&M has daily specials which are posted on their Facebook page, ‘M&M Bar.’ As the business grows, their menu will continue to expand.

For even faster service, Mike and Melinda encourage you to call ahead. Their phone number is 608-735-4488. The spacious and open dining room easily lends itself to accommodating large groups, meetings, and business lunches.

If you're looking for summer activities, this could be the place for you! Monthly activities are scheduled, including a pool tournament on April 10, an old car club ride on May 8, live music events, bean bag tournaments, UTV rallies, as well as volleyball in the summer. Pool leagues and possibly dart leagues will commence in the fall. 

“We plan on doing activities at least once a month,” Melinda adds.

M&M is open seven days a week at 10:30 a.m., with lunches starting at 11 a.m. The bar closes at 9 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays, 11p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and doors remain open until bar time on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Summer hours will be longer and will still include Happy Hour from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with $2 beers and 50 cents off mixed drinks.

If you've got a craving for a juicy, flavorful burger or a passion for homemade pizza washed down with a Driftless brew, this is the place to go. Welcome to the neighborhood, Mike and Melinda!