WAUSAU – Hiawatha Sports Bar will host a visit in late March from America’s Best Restaurants’ roadshow to film an episode that will air on social media at a later date.
America’s Best Restaurants, a national media and marketing company focusing on bringing attention to local, independently owned restaurants, will bring its show to the restaurant on March 28.
Popular dishes will be highlighted, along with an extensive on-camera interview with owners Kris McMahon, Bobby Reed and Mike Moore about the restaurant’s special place in the community.
Hiawatha Sports Bar opened more than 50 years ago, then known as the Hiawatha Restaurant and Lounge. The popular, iconic eatery, reportedly one of the oldest bars in the area, closed for good in September 2022, but a few months later was reopened by the trio of best friends.
“We put an offer in and somehow it all just worked out,” McMahon said in a news release. “We looked through the window and it was just the most beautiful building.”
McMahon moved to the area the summer of July 2021, and Reed and Moore relocated to the area after the death of McMahon’s wife to help him take care of his three children.
McMahon said that being out of his league and opening a restaurant, which he had no experience in, gave him a focus out of his grief. His children, who help out in the restaurant, could then see that resilience and overcoming difficult obstacles are keys to healing from tragedy.
Named after the Amtrak train line that runs between Milwaukee and Chicago, Hiawatha Sports Bar offers American dishes, such as burgers, appetizers, sandwiches and Friday fish frys. It also offers live music, entertainment and games, drink specials, an outdoor patio, Sunday brunch and event space.
America’s Best Restaurants will film from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 28. The restaurant’s episode premiere date will be announced on its Facebook page and featured on its website. Restaurants featured on the ABR Roadshow are found through customer nominations or by a restaurant applying to be featured at www.americasbestrestaurants.com.
