News
Willow City diner reinvents itself
Matthew Semisch
02/17/2015
Looks can be deceiving, and that certainly seems to be the case in Willow City these days.
Drive one block westward down Main Street to the corner of Main and Third Street and you’ll find the signage for Skinner’s Iron Horse Saloon.
It’s tough to miss: Look for the forest green overhead sign with gold lettering and a black figure of a horse’s head protruding out, and you’re there.
Except, however, that you wouldn’t be. Not anymore.
The sign out front still welcomes you to the Iron Horse. Upon stepping inside at 301 Main Street, though, patrons instead find a different place entirely: Horses-n-Harleys.
The building itself recently went into new ownership. Alan Skinner, who ran Skinner’s Iron Horse Saloon, sold the building a month ago to engaged couple Marty Dye and Candace Fulsebakke.
Until recently, Dye and Fulsebakke owned the original Horses-n-Harleys location on Highway 60 on the northern edge of Willow City. Dye and Fulsebakke co-owned the highway-side establishment, formerly known as the Redwing Diner, since 2011.
These days, Horses-n-Harleys’s original location stands dormant. Signage for the business remains there for now, but the building is a shell of the eatery it once was.
That’s because the business that building used to house has moved a stone’s throw away. Dye and Fulsebakke officially re-opened the former Iron Horse as their own bar and grill at noon last Monday.
A grand opening for the new Horses-n-Harleys is scheduled for March 28, but the new incarnation of the establishment officially opened last Monday.
Before Horses-n-Harleys reopened, Dye and Fulsebakke had also served patrons in a kitchen at Annie’s House at Bottineau Winter Park (BWP).
There have been some growing pains involved with the new building in Willow City, Dye said, but those have been nice problems to have.
“It’s been a little bit of a headache, a struggle, but it’s fun and it’s a good thing to have,” he said. “Everyone in town is happy we’re open because we’re the only (restaurant) people can go out to to have dinner. It’s fun and we’re having a good time doing it.
“We had ran the diner (on Highway 60) for three years, but this became available and it was a better option for us. There’s more seating for people and it gave us a chance to grow.”
Apart from the pre-existing bar, tables, chairs and the like, there is plenty of room inside the building into which Horses-n-Harleys can grow. Some of that space will soon be taken up by a stage that will be used for live entertainment.
The first live act the owners have booked is a band from Towner called The Leftovers. They are scheduled to play at the new establishment’s grand opening next month.
Dye said that live bands are something that Horses-n-Harleys wasn’t able to have at its prior location but are a viable option now at the new one.
“At least once a month I’d like to have a band in here,” he said. “We might also try bringing in a DJ sometime, too, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Bands will likely play later at night. Children will be allowed in with their parents for family dining until 9 p.m.
The Horses-n-Harleys menu at the establishment’s new location is largely the same as it was in the old one. Steaks, however, are the biggest new offering.
Customers looking for steak will have a wide range of choices. They can order either a 12-ounce or 14-ounce ribeye, a sirloin, a t-bone, a porterhouse or a cut of prime rib.
Prices for the steaks range from $15 for a 10-ounce sirloin to $24 for a 16-ounce prime rib.
A wide array of appetizers, soups and salads are also on offer. So, too, are burgers, pizzas and dinner baskets.
There is also a kids’ menu, all of whose items come with french fries and a soft drink.
A bartender, Christina England, is currently the only other member of the Horses-n-Harleys staff.
Dye feels confident that the restablished eatery will be successful.
“We were excited, and we knew we would make our business work here,” he said. “Our food has always been popular, and we hope we’ll keep people coming in the door.”