Sontie's Pavilion
The large building in the garden area was the former Bowlus Hotel – built in 1909. The building was moved to its current sight alongside the café by horse and manpower, rehabbed using the original wood from the siding, roof, and walls. Sontie’s Pavilion holds a capacity of 50, making it a perfect venue for reunions, small weddings, club meetings or any special gathering. Inquire inside Jordie’s for information on reserving the pavilion.
Sontie's Pavilion
Inquire in the restaurant for reserving Sontie's Pavilion for your next gathering, birthday, reception or reunion. Anything is possible!
So Much Beauty
Any way you look inside of Jordie’s Trailside Café, you will find a little pieceof history. From the original 1907 black bar, retro and vintage toys in the playroom to the fact that the table cloths and dishes do not match, all to give it a feeling of going to grandma’s house where you are loved and well fed.
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This building, originally called the Schwientek’s Hall, a two-story brick building has brought together locals and visitors, strangers, and friends, under one roof since 1907. The building is ripe with memories, some of them being dancing in the upstairs ballroom and then going down for refreshments on the first level. Over the next several decades the building ownership changed several times until it closed in the late 1980s.
Jordie purchased the building in 1990, reopened the vacant building into what was called, The LongTime Saloon – the name serving as a reminder of the building’s long history until 2008.
Reaching out to her daughter, Sonya, through sweat, tears and determination, the dream of Jordie’s Trailside Café was born. “Sonya loves to cook,” Jordie said. “She makes homemade pies and desserts like nobody’s business. Now they have Jordie’s mom busy making her fragrant and hearty soups that are served daily.
Along with the Schwientek Hall, the former Bowlus Hotel building was purchased with a tiny thought about how it was going to be used. It didn’t take very long and Jordie and Sonya reconstructed the hotel and transformed it into an outdoor pavilion, named Sontie’s (Sontie is a nickname given to Sonya by her nephew when he was little) while recycling a lot of the materials from the 1909 building.
Today, Jordie’s Trailside Café serves as a destination spot for all! From the homemade, hand-pattied burgers to the extensive garden oasis, the destination is truly designed to make you step back in time and remember the good ole days. Days like you had when you visit grandma. There is so much history in this small corner of Bowlus it is easy to miss things. You will discover something new with every trip.
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You can see the original name on the top of the middle arch outside of the building.
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Above each window you can find the indentation of old whiskey bottles that were placed inside the wet cement during construction.
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While the Schwientek Hall did not use “Bowlus bricks”, you can now find a few that were placed in the exterior of the building.
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Follow the yellow brick road! As you stroll through the garden, be sure to take a glance down! These bricks were bought from a house that burnt down in the area, these are all Bowlus Bricks.
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Keeping memories alive. As part of the large garden area, Jordie pays her respects to loved ones who have passed throughout the years with a small remembrance garden, located by the waterfall.
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Just keep swimming. In the summer, the large pond in the garden is filled with goldfish. There is something so soothing watching them.
