Restaurant owner has idea in the works

Something is afoot involving liquor in the Town of Belgium, but the person who knows what it is isn’t talking.

Dave Maiman, owner of the Lake Church Inn, which burned down last year, asked that a liquor license renewal be put on the Town Board agenda on Monday, but he won’t say  exactly why.

Maiman and his wife Annette Friess ran the Lake Church Inn since 2003 and have owned it since 2007. On May 16, 2023, a fire started in the 153-year-old building with staff members and customers inside. Eight customers and a couple of workers got out safely, but within hours the building was a total loss.

Fire got into the roof, causing it to start collapsing.

More than 20 fire departments responded from as far as Jackson and Plymouth, most sending tenders to bring water from two hydrants a mile or two away in the adjacent Village of Belgium.

No firefighters were injured and nearby structures were not damaged, but a landmark in Lake Church’s history was lost.

Local historian Kevin Wester’s book “Lake Church, Wisconsin, A Pictorial History,” notes that Paul Ronk, who owned the Luxemburger Pier Co., is credited with founding the oldest continually operating business in Lake Church, originally called the Lake House.

Ronk bought the land in 1856 and opened the town’s first general store, saloon and hotel there in 1870.

The business had many owners throughout the years, with members of the Schanen family owning and operating it the longest, from 1893 to 1962. Jacob and Anna Schanen bought it in 1893 and moved their family of nine from their Lake Church farm to the Lake House.

After it burned down, Maiman had the liquor license renewed for $200 last July.

Now, it sounds like he has plans to create a restaurant or bar at the site.

“We’re close. I don’t want to say anything. I’m hoping within the next couple of months,” Maiman told the Town Board.

Town Chairman Tom Winker, on advice from Wisconsin Towns Association attorney Joe Ruth, said “without a building and a premise to deliver liquor, you can’t get a license.”

Maiman disagreed.

“Yeah, you can. I talked to the state, too,” he said.

“Dave, I’m not going to argue with you,” Winker said.

That would mean Lake Church Inn’s license last July wasn’t valid.

Town Clerk Anne Nord said licenses are good for one year.

That would mean Lake Church Inn’s license has expired.

Supr. Tom Bichler asked Maiman if he planned to build.

“I really don’t want to say quite yet,” Maiman said.

The board didn’t take action on the license renewal.

Winker said Ruth is coming to the November Town Board meeting and will answer questions about liquor licenses then.