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Anyone been to Well's brothers pizza in Racine? A new book just came out called, "Everyone Loves Pizza" and this place was rated #6 in the entire U.S! Thanks

Wells Brothers
2148 Mead St
Racine, WI 53403
262-632-4408

Crispy, almost impossibly thin crust is what makes Wells Brothers special. Good sauce. Other toppings rather unremarkable.

Been around for a very long time, typical older joint in a lower blue color neighborhood.

If you visit, go one block south and get some collard greens at Irenes for desert (or woudl that be an appetizer?)

I'm always on the prowl for that tavern style Midwest thin and it was about time I hit up Wells Brothers in Racine, WI to see what its all about. Anyplace serving tavern style thin since 1921 is going to get a visit from me, I don't care where it is. Like the middle of the hood for instance. Im not going to lie, we came here this past Sunday looking to try it around 2p and it was closed. The ride down the street was Gangland Racine at its finest. Here we are in broad daylight driving down this street packed with people from the hood and there's a guy standing in his doorway with a AK47 and clips in his pocket. Obviously hes patrolling a drughouse but didn't seem to care when I glanced over at him as he gave me a little nod. So it was too early and they weren't open yet so we settled on Big Star Drive-In.

I guess I'm a little bit off but the whole fact there was this old school pizza parlor that's been there since 1921 located in a super shady neighborhood made we want to try it even more than I already did. So we headed there last night to see whats up.


old school neon sign ala Vito & Nicks...this is a good sign in my book.

Upon entrance you immediately get the feel you would expect at one of these old school pizza taverns. You are first greeted by the bar upon entering. Last night is twas full with people watching basketball and eating pizza at the bar. They had spotted cow on tap so there's another good sign in my book. Lighting was dim and the dining room was old school. Old wooden chairs, one of those painted murals of Italy on the wall along with a bunch of old school pictures and articles.


little history lesson for ya


View from my seat...as you can see its old school in there

The people working were very nice and set us up with drinks and took our order within 10 minutes despite a pretty packed house. I had explained that we came from Chicago to try this pie. Our waiter replied, "ya yall got that real think za way down there in Chicago huh?" which I thought was funny b/c Chicago isn't really way down there, Racine might as well be a suburb since other spots like Schaumburg get included. I then explained that this tavern style is actually the real Chicago style where I'm from and he had no idea we have pizza spots like Wells brother in Chicagoland. So then the pie came out within 15 minutes which I thought was pretty damn fast.


You just knew it was good when it arrived

I'm not going to sit here and try and come up with some fancy words to describe this pie. It was amazing. I repeat amazing. First thing you notice is the near blackened crust and the fact it is loaded with sausage unlike any other pizza spot I have ever seen. Upon picking up a piece you realize that the bottom is loaded with cornmeal. It may sound unappetizing but the bottom of the pie felt like sandpaper. Trust me when I say it was as appetizing a tavern style pie as I have had.


A piece of tavern style thin from Wells Brothers


Notice the bottom. My buddy,a pizza maker himself who lived in Rome for a few years, mentioned that I guess there's no such thing as too much cornmeal when making a pie. I agree. It was alot like Q's and this is my style. It passed the crispness test of taking a piece from the middle and holding it up to see if it stayed straight.


tavern style pizza perfection

So how did this place stack up with my favorites? It was almost as crispy as a Zaffiros pie, I might like the crispness factor at Wells better just because you can still fold a piece. The sausage was the 2nd best sausage on pie I have found. I still think Pat's is the best but this sausage was just like Pat's in that it was loaded with fennel. It was also the most sausage I ever got on a pie so that's a big plus. Crust and sauce were near perfect in my book. So I gotta say along with Zaffiro's, Vito & Nicks, Pat's and Q's, Wells Brothers is in my top 5 without question.

While the neighborhood has changed and the owners have come and gone at Well's, the pie remains the same. Don't be too scared off of the fact its in the hood. They have the whole place lighted outside and last night there was a Racine County sheriff escorting older folks in and out and walking around the premises. Just be careful with your camera, a banger thought I was FBI or something when I was taking pictures outside. When my camera flashed he took running faster than Usain Bolt.

I'm really starting to think that the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee area might be the best eating area in America.

Wells Brothers
2148 Mead St
Racine, WI 53403
(262) 632-4408

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Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing

DB,

The next time you're in my city, give me a shout and we'll dine down the street from Well's Bros. at Mexico Lindo. One of the best in the state.

Mexico Lindo
2717 Racine Street
Racine, WI
262-632-8161

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Feed me!

Da,

Wells has long been on my radar thanks to Joe H (old chowhound poster) and ReneG, but I've never been. Your pizza looks fantastic, with a capitol F, I might just go today.

Enjoy,
Gary

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

I work in Racine and would like to add Mi Jacalito to the list of good Mexican in Southeast Wisconsin.

Thanks for the review of Wells Bros. I lived for a year around the corner from Zaffiro's and saw no need to look further afield for great thin crust. But I think fate must want me to try Wells Bros . . .


Mi Jacalito
1318 Douglas Ave
Racine, WI

Yeah, thanks from me too - I make it to Racine every once in a while (usually for kringle), and usually grab Kewpie's while Iam there and am very happy. Ive heard of Wells Brothers, been told about it, but hadnt every gotten around to it before. Definitely will, the next time - the pics look very good.

Have a small question, however... was curious about this place after reading the above, and so looked it up and found a menu. They do seem to have a fairly extensive menu of other stuff too.. sandwiches, calzones, Italian specialities (veal parm etc). But the menu also claimed that the small (10")sausage pizza was $3.50, while the Super Sausage Pizza (16") was all of $9.75! Are these prices actually accurate? Even for Racine WI that seems a touch... reasonable?

c8w

I was a Zaffiro's worshipper after trying it way back when after reading a post by G Wiv. It didn't hurt that my nephew went to Marquette so it gave me good reason to go up north to Milwaukee for some Zaffiro's on a regular basis.

After trying Wells Brother's, I now have a new thin crust favorite north of the border. The crust is ultra thin & crispy, and the sauce, as Fishie notes is good, but I did like the toppings, one especially to to note was mushrooms, at Zaffiro's they are canned but at Wells Bros they are fresh.

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I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.

This must be new that they are using fresh mushrooms at Wells Bros, as of a year and a half ago they were canned. I will have to try it again.

Not much to say, except I second most of the above

Made it to Wells Brothers last week, on my way back from a trip up to WI. It was past 8pm (so Kewpee's etc all closed already).. so went down to Wells Brothers instead. The kitchen takes orders till 8:45, BTW, though the place stays open as long as people are around usually.

Made it just before 8:45, and got a super-sausage (was going to be too much food, but was assured it would re-heat fine.. they even offered to make half of it "half-baked" for me, if I wanted, though I declined!) Everything above pretty much spot on - took the order in a few minutes, pizza came out in about 10 or 15.

Excellent pizza it was, too - cornmeal at the bottom, crisp near-cracker crust, slightly burnt on the edges, decent (if mild) sauce, good sausage - and lots of sausage. My question up-thread I'll answer myself - a super-sausage (16 inch) is not 9.75, its actually 12.75 - but thats still a pretty damn good value! And the pizza is really very good. Nice place in general, very friendly bunch of Wisconsinites at the bar (where I ate), Leinies Amber at 1.99 a pop... really nothing not to like. I'll probably be back everytime Iam in the area (well, Kewpees will take some of my business when Iam in the area.. but they were right, the pizza reheats quite decently, so I will always pick up from here at least when in town I think). Families and couples at the bar and nearby when I went on Wednesday night (IIRC)... watching the Brewers game to start with, but then the women insisted on a channel-switch to "American Idol" for the final results show (and the men, after a show of reluctance, let em)... and when Chris(?) beat the other guy in heavy-makeup, there were squeals and a bit of an ovation from some of the women in the bar...it was all actually quite fun And then everyone turned happily back to the Brewers game. Very fun time had by all.

Oh, and really dont let the "area" keep you away - the southside of Chicago is distinctly worse IMHO This place is, as mentioned, very well lighted outside and there is *always* a sheriff deputy right outside! (They said every night they have one outside till 9pm- and they have their own parking lot across the street watched by said deputy as well). If, like most of us LTHers, you make it down to the southside BBQ spots (where you park on darkish streets and walk to the bbq spots all by your lonesome)... this is a huge improvement And once inside youd never know anything - just a solid old-school-bar-cum-Italian-restaurant inside... wouldnt even qualify for "dive bar" status IMHO. If youre in the area, nothing should keep you from dropping in IMHO.

c8w

P.S. BTW, has anyone tried desserts there? Overheard my neighbour being told that they had home-made desserts/pie I think.. but I was in no shape to even consider anything, since I was taking a lot of my pizza home to start with. But if its homemade pie, it sounds pretty good for next time.

P.P.S. BTW, I knew the area was familiar.. its down the street from where Ive been a few times (and writtten on LTH about) a couple years ago, for Irene's Carryouts, a soul-food place with a quite excellent pork-chop sandwich, one of the best Ive had. Anyone know if that still exists?

First off, thanks Da Beef for another great review with lots of pictures. That pizza is exactly what I was hoping Wells Brothers to be like. I love cornmeal on the bottom too, and the more well done, the better. The only topping I ever get is sausage, so everything looks great. I need to remember to head over to Q's after work someday soon as well.

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I went to Wells Brothers last night with a friend. The neighboorhood, while poor, is no big deal to me. You drive in, you drive out. It reminded me of so many midwest towns like Champaign, Moline, Lansing, Kalamazoo - well, their poor areas. Then again, I've driven all around the worst areas of Chicago, so maybe I expected worse. The place was packed and we waited about 20 minutes at the bar, which did have smoking, but was well ventilated (restaurant is non-smoking). I had a 14" half cheese half sausage. It was paper thin perfection. Easily one of the best pizzas I've had. The sausage was delicious. It had an oily cheese which reminded me of Marie's. I did enjoy it more than Zaffiro's or Frank's in Appleton (but both were excellent - still well worth it).

Afterwards, though we were full, my friend and I wanted to try Kewpee Burger since we were in Racine. Unfortunately, they were closed for a private party! I would have been pissed if that was the only place I was going to that night, but we were already on cloud 9 from our pizzas.

Wells Brothers - definitely in my all-time top 5 thin pizzas ever!

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Sounds like a plan. I have driven by Mexico Lindo countless times and always wanted to try it. For whatever reason it has that feel of a authentic place even when just driving by. It always catches my eye because Mexican food became my favorite cuisine due to my family's many dinners out as a youth at the now deceased Lindo Mexico on Lincoln ave here in Lincoln park.

Just for the record I wasn't saying that the neighborhood is worse than Portmore Jamaica or anything to that effect. I was just pointing out what I saw, the dude carrying the weapon just nodded at me and didn't seem to care at all. I was explaining that due to the fact its a back alley block (block behind a major street/route with little traffic that's passing thru) and since it has only two entrances for law enforcement or vehicles to enter it can be easily guarded by watchers and thus it is a major drug dealing zone. However this really shouldn't deter anyone from going unless of course you just quit crack and aren't sure you can stay away from it if its available near you. Its as safe as walking down a dark street in Chicago at night. But thats not to say its paradise...Racine has huge gang problems right now.

Do be aware though, that pizza is crack and it will keep you coming back. I stopped there last Sunday around 5 or 6p with my buddies on the way back from Madison and they were closed. I'm pretty sure they are closed Sundays for the record.

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Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing

After having my first Wells Brothers experience Saturday, I am already going back with my brother and uncle tomorrow night.

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LADIES - Please check out my girlfriend's clothing site that might be of use to someone you know PM me for coupon

My wife and I visited Wells Brother's Pizza back on the afternoon of 6/27 on our way up to Milwaukee. We arrived at a little after 3pm and there were just a couple locals in the front bar and two families in the dining room. A wonderful throwback pizza parlor and tavern that looks largely unchanged for decades. We started with a Leinie Original from the bar and an order of cheese garlic bread and marinara. The bread was wonderful and whet our appetite for the medium sausage and onion pizza that was soon to arrive. Since there were few patrons in the middle of the afternoon, our pizza arrived quickly and I barely had the willpower to take a couple pictures before diving in. As you'll see, the burnt edges and slightly carmelized onion were perfect for this light and crispy pizza. We devoured the entire pie in short order and were left feeling satisfyingly full...but not stuffed.

Our waiter asked it it was our first visit (I probably blew my cover by snapping pictures of our food) and I mentioned that we were up from Chicago. He seemed a bit surprised and asked how we had heard of the place. I mentioned LTHForum.com and I could tell he was taking a mental note. I told him to check it out and I hope he did.

I know some have expressed concern about Wells Bros. being in a sketchy part of Racine, but you shouldn't worry too much if you find yourself comfortable in the average ethnically and socioeconomically diverse Chicago neighborhood. That said, common sense is always the rule when one finds oneself in an unfamiliar area.

We had a wonderful visit and will certainly be back with friends soon.

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Native Chicagolander Since 2003

I didn't see any mention of opening times, and it doesn't appear that Wells Brothers has a website, so I called their number. They are open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am - 8:45 pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Oh no... a chink in the armor!

As with many restaurants, no matter how good, sometimes you can run into constitancy issues. We arrived at the end of the evening, and all four of us got at least half sausage pizzas. My pizza didn't taste as fresh and hot as prior visits. But the big letdown was the sausage. On the previous visit my uncle had mentioned that some of his sausage had gristle in it. This time, both myself and one of my friends had pieces of sausage with fat and or gristle in them. We couldn't even chew them. We were both very turned off by this. I am not sure what to think at this point as I really like their sausage, but apparently the quality is not near the top. Nevertheless, I will still return if in the area. It's still an excellent thin tavern style pizza, with nice service and atmosphere. I heard about Mike and Angelo's in Racine being really good to. Anyone ever been there?

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LADIES - Please check out my girlfriend's clothing site that might be of use to someone you know PM me for coupon

Never had the problem with Wells Bros sausage as you described in over a dozen years of eating there at least monthly, it could just be a fluke.

Mike and Angelo's is very good, also good are Pia's & Ferraros.

In Kenosha, Ruffalos (on 45th) does a good job. I once had a Pizza at Villa Da Carlo that reminded me allot of a Barnaby's pizza. Luigi's get my vote as best in Kenosha and as the second best after Wells in the area.

I'm not a huge fan of Infusino's or DeRango's pizza, but DeRangos makes a great fried chicken. Skip the Kaiser as it is a Lake County transplant and is not that great.

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-Burt

Burt's Food Blog!
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Yeah, I was thinking I shouldn't worry too much about it. But I am a little wary as I had bad sausage, my friend had it, and my uncle had it a different time.

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Born & raised in Racine, WI and I must admit that Well's Bros pizza is hands down the best I know I will ever have. Before I found this forum I already had one for supper which I rarely ever do(don't wanna get sick of it since it's in my backyard.) I just wanted to add this. I know this is a pizza topic but if you go down 2 blocks south of Well's bros on Mead St you'll find Totero's tavern. They have the best lasagna I know I will ever have in my life. Very old school Italian tradition at this joint. If I'm not mistaken the lasagna is still prepared and made by a Beautiful Italian Grandmother the night before. A real diamond in the rough here. Tavern setting is with the owner bartending and sports memoribilia that will blow you away. Service is fantastic. I believe that it the only time you can get the lasagna is durning lunch hours on Wednesdays. It was always packed when I went for lunch. But you better get it while it's hot because its first come first serve here and if you miss it you gotta wait a whole week.
Just thought I'd add this if you enjoy great Italian food.

Great pictures, and write up of Wells Brothers. I must get here eventually any way I can..... *so envious of Raciners*

I AM A BELIEVER

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philw bbq cbj for kcbs &M.I.M. carolina pit masters

I finally made it up to Wells Brothers for a pizza lunch yesterday. It's funny you should mention this book, because they have a copy at the restaurant that they will proudly show off at the merest mention. Judging by the dog eared look of the book, more than a few people have asked about it.



Pizza is what everyone talks about, but their menu is much broader than that. Yesterday, being "Ash Wednesday", they were featuring their usual Friday special of All You Care to Eat Walleye or Lake Perch. Tempting as that was, I drove 65 miles for pizza, and pizza was what I was going to get...but I couldn't resist ordering a "choose 3 items" fried appetizer combo to start. Being Wisconsin, cheese curds was an obvious choice for one of the items. Along with the curds, I got green beans and eggplant (which the bartender declared a perfect choice). Half expecting foodservice pre-frozen and breaded portion controlled veggies, I was pleasantly surprised to get these hand breaded beauties in a basket served along with house made marinara sauce and some ranch dressing.

Wells Brothers Fried Appetizer Combination


For the main event, we ordered a cheese, sausage, onion and garlic pizza with anchovies on half (a modified Steve Z). The mere mention of anchovies made nearly everyone in the bar wince, but they don't know what they are missing. The pizza arrived as advertised; cracker thin and crispy, with beautiful burnt edges. All of the ingredients were of excellent quality, though the garlic was understated to the point of being nearly absent. I'm pretty sure the sausage is made in house. Eaten along with a little bit of hot giardinara, which I ordered on the side, this pizza took its rightful place along with Marie's, Vito & Nick's and Zaffiro's among the pantheon of great tavern style thin crust pizzas.

Wells Brothers Pizza


Crust Detail


For desert I tried a piece of banana cream pie, which I understand is made by a local grandma three times a week. It was OK, but far overshadowed by the pizza. If Wells Brothers wasn't so far from my house, it would be part of my regular rotation (and not just for the pizza, either). I'd highly recommend a visit to Wells Brothers any time you happen to be in the Racine area. This place is just oozing with personality and the staff couldn't be friendlier if they tried (Just ask G Wiv about the full Albert treatment). It's a great place to stop either on the way to or from Milwaukee. Keep in mind that they are closed Sunday and Monday (but sell par-baked pizzas on Saturday so people can stock up for the Packers games).

Wells Brothers
2148 Mead St
Racine, WI 53403
262-632-4408

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

i just had the 4 pcs that i had left from a trip to wells bros. on tue.
this is # 1 pizza
i had cocanut cream pie for dessert

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philw bbq cbj for kcbs &M.I.M. carolina pit masters

Not sure if I first heard about Well's Brothers from ReneG or an old Joe H Chowhound post, of 50-Best fame, but I've been meaning to visit for at least 8-years. Now that I've been I can only wonder what took me so long, Well's thin crust pizza is squarely in my wheelhouse, taking it's rightful place along side Vito & Nick's, Marie's and Zaffiro's. Sausage is made in-house, I asked.

Well's Brother's Thin Crust Pizza



Well's is one of the friendlier places I've been in years, family run, with previous generations of owners on hand, not to mention regulars who have been enjoying Well's for decades.

(L) Guy Wells 85, (R) Tony Wells 82. Second generation owners



Paula Wells-Huck (current co owner), Jim Huck



Bill Rivers (current co owner)



Dorothy 91, Judi, Dorothy's daughter, long time customers




Plotnicki may think he gets the VIP treatment with special orders of wood pigeon and brontosaurus , but he has nothing on Albert whose history with Wells goes back to peeling potatoes as a boy. Albert slips in the back door early to renew his vows with long time love E & J and by the time lunch rolls around starts to get a little sleepy. Needing nothing more than the slightest of half-lidded nods the barman goes into a back room, brings out a pillow and sets Albert up for his nap.

The Full Albert Treatment



Pies are made thrice weekly by Babe, sister to Guy and Tony. I liked the banana cream pie a little more than Steve and very much enjoyed the coconut cream pie.

Coconut Cream Pie



Bob, Florence, aka Babe (pie lady) 82, sister to Guy and Tony



Anyone who is a fan of thin crust pizza should run, not walk, to Well's Brothers in Racine. Don't make the same mistake as me and wait 8-years.

Enjoy,
Gary

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Hi,

Dave148 and I crossed the cheddar curtain destined for Wells Brother's Pizza. At 12:30 all the tables in the dining area were taken. We sat in the bar area at an elevated two top table. I'm so used to smoke free environments, it's a bit surprising to find smokers in public. However, I wanted to try that pizza and no smoke was getting in my way.

We ordered a sausage, onion and mushroom pizza plus two meatballs to try. I've been on a meatball kick lately and 50 cents each wasn't a reason to defer. While I like my meatballs better, these were pretty good. The meat wasn't too fine ground. These had a nice texture and spice without any need to add seasoning at the table. They arrived in a generous pool of tomato gravy. If pizza wasn't about to arrive, I might have asked for some bread to skin the cat. (phrase learned from Mike Royko: "skin the cat" is sopping up gravy with bread)

Pizza arrived pretty quickly to the table. A quick visual inspection to see sausage, onion and mushroom visible without too much sauce or cheese. I have come to appreciate the minimalist approach to thin pizza to help it retain its crunch. First bite was heaven with a very satisfying crunch. Dave148's eyes really lit up with appreciation of the crust's texture, too. The whole experience of eating this pizza was better than I ever expected.

I might be a ruined person trying all other thin crust pizza hoping for the same experience. The waitress did quote someone, I don't know who, who judged their pizza the sixth best in the country. I want to try those other five.

Circulating around the restaurant was a copy of the Milwaukee Magazine's March issue featuring 40 best pizzas. While there was no apparent ranking, the article did include Wells Brothers. I intended to try to find a March copy, then forgot about it. Just as likely it is off the newstands now. Here is a link to a teaser. I checked their archives to find the March issue is not yet there, though it might show up soon in their archives.

What really gets my dander up is how close I have come to Wells without knowing it was there. It is very close to Catfish City, now closed and once had a location in Waukegan, where I have gone for take out. I knew Wells was somewhere in Racine, just didn't realize I was many times less than a block away.

If it were not closed on Sunday, I would be there tomorrow.

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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i am looking forward to getting back up to wells bro.
might have to go soon , it is a great stop

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philw bbq cbj for kcbs &M.I.M. carolina pit masters

What with all the talk and fabulous photos of what looks like fabulous pizza, Mrs. Trpt and I have made a plan to hit Wells Brothers this Saturday around noon. Will report back.

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trpt2345

My wife and I and our 2 year old stopped by Wednesday for lunch on our way up to Milwaukee for a 2 day eating and swimming adventure. We arrived around 1:30 just as the lunch rush was over. We had a sausage and mushroom pie and man was it tasty! We loved the place. Very accommodating for our small child and our server was great. Some of the old timers and think family had a card game going at one table. When I asked where Albert does his sleeping they all cracked up and said did I see it on the internet? They said to say Hi to Gwiv and Dabeef! I just missed him. This will be a regular stop on our rotation on our trips up North. No need to stop at Brat Stop on the way up AND back!!

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Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?...........Louis Armstrong

On July 1st, Wells Brother's will be "smoke free."

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Feed me!