Transportation to the area was by horse and buggy, by ferries docking at one of the resort's piers, or by the "Dummy Line," a railroad with a "dummy" horse leading the first car so as not to frighten the real horses. Families who came out for the day enjoyed picnicking at the "toadstool tables and chairs," strolling the terraced lake bank or wading in the water of the sandy beach. Pictures depicting many of these special occasions are commemorated in the pictures on our walls.



This shows what the Pandl's Whitefish Bay Inn area looked like in those "good ol' days." While Pandl's Restaurant itself was not part of the park, it is a landmark, one of the few buildings remaining in the area reminiscent of the unhurried past.



With the advent of the "horseless carriage" and prohibition, the Pabst Resort was closed, and so closed an era in Whitefish Bay's history. In the following years, beautiful homes were built along Lake Drive that create one of the most scenic areas of the Great Lakes Circle Tour.



In 1932 John Pandl passed away. The business remained in the hands of Anna, who worked tirelessly to run the restaurant and raise her family of five children. Depression years of little business gave way to wartime years of short food supply. The family grew up. Jack, the youngest son, joined his mother in the operation of the restaurant and subsequently purchased it in 1960's. Even into her seventies, Anna would still work a full day in the kitchen making fine soups and desserts. Her cooking skills were fondly imparted to her family and co-workers. Anna passed away in 1967.



Jack Pandl followed his mother's footsteps. With his wife, Elaine, he ran the restaurant and raised a family of three children. Many a day you could find Pandl family members working in the dining room, kitchen and in the office.



Today, Jack Pandl's Whitefish Bay Inn is managed by Jack and Elaine's son, John and his wife, Laura, who purchased the restaurant in 1995. While semi-retired, Jack still gave welcome advice, especially in tasting the soups daily. Jack passed away in 2001. His gentle manner and eye for detail will be greatly missed.



Now in a new millennium, the traditions of our ancestors continue on. The old world atmosphere and warmth still enable us to say, "You are a stranger here but once."



One person who certainly is not a stranger to Pandl's Whitefish Bay Inn is J. Christopher Jamrozy, C. C. B. W., who has been a Pandl "family" member since 1964. As Chris puts it, "I wear a lot of hats here. Among those hats are: a major portion of the ordering (dry goods, meat, poultry, fish); Chris is also the first contact person for any service work, such as, plumbing, electrical or heating; and - creating many of the restaurant's specialties. Those specialties include sumptuous homemade soups. Some of Chris's favorites are creamy Swiss vegetable soup, liver -dumpling soup and, of course, his popular duck and wild rice soup made with Chieftain wild rice products.



Chris says he's also proud of his old-fashioned comfort food. That means braised short ribs, lamb shank and an old-world marinated sauerbraten with 'honest-to-gosh' potato dumplings, and sweet and sour red cabbage. And finally, there is Chris's Gramma P. Jammer, to-die-for cheesecake. "It's damn good, if I do say so myself," Chris proclaims unabashedly. So...what's the secret to Chris's incredible cheesecake? "No cooking it until it's all done." In other words, "do not over cook." And the rest of the secret to the cheesecake? "Well," says the well-seasoned chef, rather mysteriously, "if I revealed the rest of that secret, then it wouldn't be a secret now. Would it?"



Now and then customers ask Chris why he has worked at one restaurant for so many years. He smiles and explains: "I've worked with four generations of the Pandls - grandma and her sons and daughters and grandchildren and great grandchildren. And, believe me - they're all as fine as the cuisine. -- Great!"