Dawn Manor | Boelter

Location: Baraboo, WI

Scope of Work: Foodservice Design, Equipment Specification & Installation, Furniture, Interior Design

When Abraham Vanderpoel had Dawn Manor built in 1855, he could never have imagined what the future would bring for this estate. After being called up to duty in the Civil War, Vanderpoel sold his home. Over the ensuing years the house changed hands multiple times and was almost destroyed in a fire. Eventually, Steve Uphoff of Uphoff Ventures purchased the property, bringing it back to life with a grand opening in 2025.

The new iteration moved the estate to a property on Mirror Lake, reconstructing Dawn Manor painstakingly with original Potsdam sandstone. And this time around, the manor is much more than a residence. It has been reborn as a restaurant and bar designed to bring an elevated dining experience to the Wisconsin Dells. “The vision for Dawn Manor was always simple for me,” Uphoff says. “I wanted to save a 170-year-old historical asset and allow multiple generations to appreciate its charm and history.”

A collaborative effort between architecture firm ADCI, Boelter and Morrissey Hospitality helped Uphoff make his vision a reality. “Boelter allowed us to leverage this unique asset by assembling the A-team needed to build a quality restaurant and bar experience with state-of-the-art food, equipment and technology,” Uphoff says.

Bringing History to Life

Five different dining rooms and a speakeasy provide an immersive experience for guests. Each one has its own distinct flair, from the historical atmosphere of the 1855 and Lincoln Rooms, to the more eccentric atmosphere of the Haunted Room and the Raab Room, named after the owners of the 1950s.

Led by Cherie Grutzmacher, interior design and furniture specialist, the Boelter design team rose to the challenge of creating unique spaces and maintaining a historical atmosphere all while building a modern dining experience.

Period Furniture

One of Grutzmacher’s biggest challenges was figuring out how to transport guests back to the elegance of 1855, without spending an exorbitant amount on period furniture. The solution – leveraging Boelter’s longstanding relationships with manufacturers to source modified looks of the period style. Special touches such as a high-density foam and embroidering the Dawn Manor logo on standard vinyl upholstery helped elevate the space as well, without over-taxing the budget.

Practical Matters. For the other four dining rooms, Grutzmacher chose chairs with rounded, shield backs for a traditional look that could carry over just as well in the in the mid-century Frank Lloyd Wright Room as in the Raab Room. “Each room is so different, but the furniture needed to be somewhat the same so they could move it around as needed,” Grutzmacher says. “In those rooms it’s really the detail of the interior design work, from the décor to the colors of the walls, that builds the atmosphere.”

Finish and Trim. Attention to detail was key in this project. The hinges from the original Dawn Manor were refurbished and used in the new restaurant, and wooden finishes rather than metal doors leading to the kitchen help embrace the feeling of dining in a home, albeit an eccentric one.

Designing the Kitchens and Bars: The Heart of the Operation

The steps taken to get to a fully functioning foodservice operation in Dawn Manor were truly a collaborative effort. While the initial design had one kitchen on the main floor, with a prep kitchen on the lower level, after consulting with Keith Reardon at Morrissey Hospitality, it became clear more production space was needed to provide the output the owners envisioned. “The flexibility needed for this particular project was significant, and the team at Boelter was always accommodating,” Reardon says.

Blake VanDerBosch, project manager at Boelter, worked closely with Jason Ryan, senior architect and partner at ADCI Design, to allocate additional space and production capacity for the basement kitchen. “Dawn Manor was a new build, with key elements of the existing structure incorporated that presented unique design challenges,” says VanDerBosch. “Thankfully Jason was very creative in drawing up a design that allocated space for both kitchens.”

Even with two kitchens, space was a priority. Shelves and stacked ovens help make use of vertical space, and each kitchen has its own hot line with custom chef’s tables designed by Infinity Custom Metal Products with custom angles to maintain necessary aisle clearance and provide efficient workspace.

Equipment was sourced with three things in mind – the ability to produce quality food efficiently and consistently from one service to the next. Two double stack combi ovens, a tilt skillet and a high-speed conveyor oven provide versatility in cooking methods and programmability so that quality is never sacrificed.

Serving was another key element of the overall design. Two expo stations were strategically located to allow kitchens to send food to multiple dining rooms efficiently without adding extra labor for food runners or sacrificing temperature or presentation. Mirrored beverage stations were installed where staff can make cocktails, pour wine, and run soda service without adding congestion to the guest-facing bar.

VanDerBosch’s skill as a designer came into play when creating the circular bar in the speakeasy, working to get all the equipment to fit within the curves. Both the speakeasy and the dining room’s bars have custom cocktail stations and beer towers. “We worked closely with the general contractor to locate line runs,” VanDerBosch says. “Lower ceiling heights of this older building and issues that came up in the field were all handled through plenty of coordination and communication.”

From sourcing furniture to designing custom bars, the experience and collaborative efforts of the team at Boelter helped bring to life a unique dining experience at Dawn Manor.