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Barn-Dor Feed Lot Supper Club now open in New Albin
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By Betsy Fruechte
Special to the Argus
A new restaurant opened its doors in New Albin on Oct. 15. The Barn-Dor Feed Lot, whose name comes from combining the names of owners Barney and Dorothy Diersen, is a supper club that specializes in buffet-style food.
Ron Weymiller of New Albin is the owner of the building where the Barn-Dor Feed Lot Supper Club now exists. “For years, I knew that a supper club would go in this town,” says Weymiller. “And right from the beginning I knew that if I was going to build a supper club, I wanted it to be a nice one.”
Weymiller approached the Diersen couple with his idea for a supper club, but initially they were unsure. “We went back and forth about four different times,” says Dorothy. Eventually the couple agreed to the idea and began work on their country-inspired supper club and Weymiller specially built the building for the new business.
The Diersens are proud to say that their restaurant is different from any of the others in the area. The Barn-Dor Feed Lot has buffet specials on Friday and Saturday nights and brunch on Sunday mornings. Friday night’s special is a fish and chicken buffet and Saturday night is a pork and beef buffet. The couple was in the catering business before opening up the supper club and still does catering for special events. “[Barney and I] do all the buffet cooking,” said Dorothy. “It’s what we know how to do.” The rest of the cooking is done by the Diersen’s hires, who are all locals.
The Diersens say that the Barn-Dor Feed Lot is a “down-home supper club.” The way they prepare their food supports this claim. “A lot of the recipes we use are my grandma’s,” Dorothy noted.
The Barn-Dor Feed Lot served over 400 people in the first four days they were open. “So far it’s met our expectations,” Dorothy added. “Everybody’s been really supportive.”
“We’ve had a good response from people,” says bartender Ross Kolsrud. “It’s something new and different. We’re even pulling people from La Crosse and other areas.”
While the food is one obvious reason for hungry customers to come to the Barn-Dor Feed Lot, the atmosphere also makes it an attractive destination. “We tried to make it simple,” said Dorothy. “It’s a blue-jeans place to come.” A quilt hangs over the buffet made especially for the Diersens’ new restaurant. Other antiques and country-style décor are placed carefully on the bright yellow walls.
“It’s not too fancy. It’s a nice place to have a few drinks and eat good food,” says Kolsrud.
Hours for the Barn-Dor Feed Lot are as follows: the bar is open on Wednesday-Saturday from 3 p.m. – close. Kitchen is open on Wednesday-Saturday from 5 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for brunch.
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