Cole and Madison Rogers became new owners of the property, most recently a supper club, last month and have renamed it Ruby’s Bar, in memory of a beloved pet dog. Most of the specialty drinks on the menu also are named after past dogs in their lives.

They had an official grand opening for Ruby’s on July 1.

“We’ve been looking to put our money into something here,” Cole Rogers said. “… (so) when this came up for sale and the area that it was in and the condition that it was in, we just couldn’t pass it up.”

The Goodman Clubhouse was among the first buildings to go up in the town of Goodman in the early 1800s, designed by the Chicago-based architectural firm of Holabird and Roche to resemble George Washington’s home, Mt. Vernon, with its two-story pillars and porch.

THE HISTORIC GOODMAN CLUBHOUSE, now home to Ruby’s Bar, was reportedly designed to look like George Washington’s home, Mt. Vernon. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

In the beginning, the Clubhouse was a community meeting place. Through the years, it functioned as a ballroom, theater, restaurant, bowling alley, post office, barber shop and candy store.

In the early years the bar only offered beer, as the Goodman family was against serving hard liquor.

The Clubhouse had numerous ownership changes through the years, with the owners before the Rogers, John and Claudia Moritz, operating it as a supper club from 1996 to 2020. It was the Moritzes who spent a great deal of effort in restoration and remodeling, bringing the Clubhouse back to its former glory, Madison said.

The Rogers came to the region from Stevens Point, Wis., after purchasing a cabin in Dunbar, Wis., four years ago that had been the home of Madison’s grandmother. Madison recently discovered her father was born in Goodman and grew up in Dunbar.

Before purchasing the Clubhouse, Cole installed off-road lighting on pickup trucks and side-by-side vehicles.

Madison still works full-time in sales at Town and Country Ford in Quinnesec, but previously had tended bar since she was 18 plus worked as a restaurant server.

Acquiring the Clubhouse and making it their own was an easy decision, the Rogers said.

“Ever since we’ve moved here, we’ve been really interested in becoming business owners in this area, just because we live here and we kind of wanted to put our work right back into the community,” Madison said.

They at first took interest in a small convenience store in Dunbar about six or seven months ago, they said.

“When that didn’t work out, this place went up for sale. And we used to come here snowmobiling all the time. And my whole family just fell in love with the building and the stories and the history. And with all my, you know, experience in the restaurant industry, I thought it’d be a much better fit than a convenience store,” Madison explained.

Other than some equipment upgrades and other needed repairs, the Rogers do not plan any major remodeling. They closed on the property June 6 and opened for a private event — a group of more than 200 bikers — just four days later.

But the Rogers do have some ideas on how Ruby’s will differ from its predecessor.

“Claudia (the previous owner) was an absolutely amazing cook, so the separate club was something that they really focused on, whereas the downstairs bar, they really didn’t open it that often … So the bar was the first thing that we wanted to get going,” Madison said.

They hope to turn the supper club area and private event space into one big events center for weddings and dances, along with roller skating every Sunday and bingo every Tuesday.

But the new events and plans don’t mean they are moving away from the Clubhouse’s past altogether.

“What I want to do is instead of having three different menus going out of a kitchen on one weekend is to do our chef’s nights during the week,” said Madison. “That way, people that actually live here can come and enjoy their steak and their fish and that sort of thing during the week, as opposed to on the weekends where we can rent it out entirely for a wedding or a dance or something like that.”

They also would like to be known for having the best cheese curds in Wisconsin, adding that Ruby’s hand-battered version appears on its way to that goal given the feedback from customers.

In addition, their menu has bone-in wings, sliders with a variety of cheese and other toppings, hand-cut fries and several ice cream desserts such as a turtle brownie sundae.

Cole and Madison hope Ruby’s continues to be a place the community can be proud of and where future generations can create memories.

Ruby’s is open 11 a.m. until bar close Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with food served until midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

All-day breakfast is in the works and will be available soon, they said.