Ewig Bros. Fish Co. not forgotten in new Port deli

For generations, Ewig Bros. Fish Co. tickled the taste buds of Port Washington’s residents and visitors with the company’s iconic smoked fish, and now Dan Mueller is hoping to do the same in the building at 121 S. Wisconsin St. that for decades housed Ewig’s.

Almost a year to the day that Ewig’s closed, Mueller opened Breakwater Deli and Nostalgia, using two of the three smokers in the building to smoke fish, primarily salmon and whitefish, and meats, including hams and bacon.

The deli, which  Mueller described as a European-style market, will offer a range of homemade sandwiches, salads and soups, as well as some bakery and basic foods, such as farm-fresh eggs and butter.

He’s considering holding weekly fish boils in summer and plans to offer fish spreads and fries.

“We’re going to have fish,” Mueller said. “I’m not going to be as heavily into fish (as Ewig’s). It will be like them, but with a twist.” 

The “nostalgia” part of the business includes an antique shop and a bike rental shop with a variety of vintage bikes, more contemporary models and even some ebikes.

“I’m trying to do three projects at once,” Mueller said.

While the interior of the building has been rearranged to accommodate the new business, hints of Ewig’s remain — including the distinctive scent of smoked fish.

The smokers, once hidden from view, are visible from the deli, which is on the east side of the building in what had previously been a prep area that few saw.

While two of the three smokers will continue to be smokers, Mueller has cleaned up the area where the third is located and placed an oven there, taking advantage of the ventilation system.

The antiques business is in the former fish market and other nearby areas.

But the main focus is the deli. It’s a far cry from Mueller’s former job running his family’s custom car stereo shop — his parents started it in 1967 and he took it over in 2000 — but something he has always wanted to do.

The change in careers, he said, was sparked by health issues he’s had during the past year, including a heart attack and strokes that he said led him on a path to a new, healthier lifestyle.

He suffered a stroke at his home near Holy Hill last September and has no memory of the next six days, Mueller said.

While he was in the hospital, he was contacted by someone who offered to buy his stereo business — an offer he was quick to accept.

“I loved it (the business) when I took it over, but after Covid and the recession, I hated it,” Mueller said. “The stress I didn’t need.”

He quit smoking, changed his diet and took steps to lower stress. But a month after selling the business, he was bored.

“I couldn’t take it,” Mueller said.

He and his niece, who lives in Port, began looking for a place where he could indulge his interest in cooking and she could start a floral store.

The Ewig’s building came up and Mueller was sold. It wasn’t big enough for the floral business, so Mueller came up with the idea of adding the antique shop as a way of emptying his three-car garage, which was packed with things he had picked up at garage sales, antique stores and flea markets through the years.

“I had the stuff and I needed it out of my garage,” he said.

The bike-rental business is a natural extension of the antique shop, Mueller said, noting he had a number of older model bikes. Given the shop’s location near parks, the lakefront and the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, he said, it was an ideal addition.

He’s even planing to rent bikes with a picnic lunch, something he said could provide romantic meals for couples and a fun time for families.  

Mueller is renting space for his business from the Ansay family, which owns the property and had been looking for a family business to locate there, he said.

His daughters, who are ages 12 and 14, are excited to help out and are considering operating a bait shop in the parking lot and helping out in other ways, he said.

Mueller said he had always wanted to open a deli-style eatery, not a sit-down restaurant. It fits him better, he said, because he enjoys chatting with customers.

“I can still make sandwiches while I’m talking,” he said.

Mueller said the emphasis in the deli will be on local ingredients and healthy offerings aimed at feeding residents of the area as well as tourists.

His foods include a grilled cheese sandwich made with duck fat, not butter, which he said adds a delicious touch with less fat, and a version of the famous McDonald’s McRib sandwich, which has a cult following.

He’s been taste testing the recipes with people who live in the area, Mueller said, and the reception so far has been good.  

There won’t be seating inside the deli, he said, but there will be tables on the patio where customers can eat.  There will be walking paths on the south side that will wind through an herb garden and a dog patio where he will offer homemade dog treats.

“I can’t wait for summer,” Mueller said. “I’m just going to enjoy being here this summer. This makes me happy.”