Chef Mark Weston and his wife Mary keep the tradition of supper with a view at Gib’s on the Lake
CARLTON, Wis. (WFRV) – Chef Mark Weston says fate brought him and his wife to Gib’s on the Lake.
“I was walking my dogs on the beach and I looked up the hill and I saw this building was vacant,” he recalled. “By the time I got back to my car, I was convinced that it was going to be ours.”
Weston is a Manitowoc native who has been a chef for more than 40 years. He trained in Minneapolis and met his wife there. They operated a resort restaurant in Alexandria, Minnesota for 14 years.
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But around 2009, Chef Weston wanted to be closer to his mom and dad on Wisconsin’s lakeshore.
By October 2011 they re-opened Gib’s after some remodeling in the kitchen.
“It was still set up homestyle,” explained Chef. “I set it up so it could handle my menu. I wanted a very unique menu that would be very hard for people to duplicate.”
His wife Mary is the primary host and server. “I like making people happy,” she told Local 5’s Michele McCormack. “I like seeing their faces when they eat. I just like being around people.”
The views will take your breath away.
Some shoreline erosion took two huge trees that had blocked the view until recently.
Weston has had to go to great expense to prevent further erosion but now there is just one long view of Lake Michigan no matter where you are seated.
Local 5 stopped by during German night which is so good, it’s on both Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Our crew saw old friends getting together, a mother and daughter enjoying a quiet supper together, and a couple, Josh and Louise Reis of Reedsville, who recently celebrated 15 years of marriage and were enjoying a table that looked right out onto the water and the sunset.
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“It’s a piece of our culture, to be honest with you,” said Josh. “You’re welcome and known here even if you’ve never been here before.”
Bartender Randy Stangel makes firetrucks by day and hand-muddles the old-fashioned cocktails.
If ice cream drinks are your thing, he’s ready for that too. He says it’s a great side job for the money and the people.
“We get people from Illinois, past Green Bay. Folks going back and forth to Door County. On a Friday or Saturday, it gets very very busy. You have to take it one drink at a time.”
There is a real sense of family here. Chef Weston hired his kitchen staff when they were kids. Most have been with him for more than a decade.
“We only buy the best beef we can find,” insisted Chef Weston. “We get the freshest seafood we can get our hands on. We make all of our pasta homemade. All of our soups and sauces are made from scratch. The only thing we do buy is crinkle-cut French fries.”
Especially on German night, you might just want to plan on a doggie bag or two.
That way you can enjoy their appetizers. Their most popular is the fried combination of onion petals, frickles (deep-fried pickles), and cheese curds.
This will also allow you to enjoy dessert which ranges from creme brûlée to Door County cherry lava cake.
