The recently opened Glenn Lounge and Grill in Bonduel is well on its way to fulfill the concept of a boozy bar.
The concept that is sweeping the country aims to create a comfortable atmosphere for customers to gather and share quality drinks and good times.
The Glenn Lounge and Grill is owned by Nikki and Jeff Bougie. Originally from Bonduel, they now live in the Hofa Park area.
“A comfortable, moody, boozy lounge, with a small fresh food menu,” is how Nikki Bougie described the vision for The Glenn.
The lounge has a warm atmosphere, with cozy couches and chairs for customers to relax and enjoy the drinks and food. Table top games are available for customers. Cribbage can be played at the bar, which features comfortable bar stools.
The building was constructed in the early 1900s for Heck Hardware. Old pictures of the building and a Heck Hardware sign are part of The Glenn’s décor.
The Potting Shed was the most recent business to occupy the space. There’s an addition that was built in the 1950s that the Bougies are now using for The Glenn’s kitchen.
Before opening, the couple did some renovations to the inside, repainted the ceilings and some walls, upgraded the electrical and built the bar.
“My husband and I did almost all of the work ourselves,” Nikki Bougie said. “We hired a company to finish the electric.”
They have had a lot of support from family and friends to get the lounge up and running.
“They helped us pour concrete during renovation, they cook in the kitchen, they do dishes,” Nikki Bougie said.
Although new to the hospitality business, the Bougies have easily introduced the new style of bar to Bonduel.
“We want to be different from everybody else around us,” Nikki Bougie said. “We don’t want to compete with anybody in the community. We want to add to the community, so that way we can draw people into our community from other areas.”
The Bougies are very community-oriented and are hoping to help the area thrive.
“We want to draw people in to Bonduel, to go ax throwing (Captains Axe and Arcade),” Nikki Bougie said. “We want to draw people in to go to the florists here. We want to draw people in to go to The Mill, like they draw people in themselves. We want to draw people in to go to the pizzeria next door, to do the poker runs, to go to the sausage shop (Lawrenz’s Sausage Shop), to the antique shop (1919 Antiques). Hungry Bear has great breakfast in the morning, just to draw people in.”
The Glenn develops new craft cocktails weekly in order to have something different from what other bars and restaurants have.
“People can come in here and try a couple of cocktails,” Nikki Bougie said, “but if they want something more basic, they can still go next door or to one of the area bars. We don’t serve rail alcohol here, everything is more top-shelf to high-end.”
The Glenn features alcohol that is local to the state and to the community. They feature bourbon from J. Henry and Sons, a distillery in Dane. Driftless Glen Distillery bourbons and whiskeys from Baraboo can also be found in the lounge.
They even use local Hofa Park honey in their menu.
The Glenn features an innovative drink menu, with a variety of homemade Old Fashioned Mixes.
“My husband just literally made up one mix to see how it would work, and it tasted good,” Nikki Bougie said.
The mixes are mostly used to create fresh takes on the Wisconsin Old Fashioned, using bourbon or brandy. Bougie said that the mix flavors include Hot Honey, Mango Habenero, Blackberry, Peach and Apricot.
“We’re working on an orange mix, because people are asking for that, snd we have people asking for a tequila one,” she said.
They also serve their homemade regular Old Fashioned mix.
“Same thing with the wines,” she said. “We have some basic wines, but also more high-end. We partnered with Hammen Family Orchard and Winery in Bonduel, because they are local. I like the winery, that it’s close. I like the set-up, that they grow as much of the fruit that they can.”
For those who don’t want to get buzzed, The Glenn also offers a variety of drinks sans alcohol.
“People who aren’t drinkers can get non-alcoholic Old Fashioneds, beer and wine,” she said.
Nikki Bougie said that they plan to offer a very fresh menu.
“On Wednesday, the cow gets butchered, and on Friday, we pick the meat up,” she said. “All of our hamburger and steak will be legitimately just-butchered beef. We’ve added pizzas, with sourdough crusts from Megan Wiese with Molly’s Meadow. She also makes all of the bread for our sandwiches. She’ll be making the noodles for our Alfredo.”
Wiese rents retail space in the lounge from the Bougies. It’s a bonus for customers of The Glenn to be able to purchase a variety of her sourdough offerings, according to Nikki Bougie, who said said that the bakery has tended to sell out fast.
Nikki Bougie owns a hair salon in Ashwaubenon, Bougie Salon, and has been a stylist for almost 30 years. Jeff Bougie is a steamfitter superintendent for Jamar Company in Green Bay.
The Bougies have two boys. Gavin, 22, is in the U.S. Army. Hunter, 19, is a freshman at St. Norbert College and he sometimes helps out at The Glenn on the weekends.
They are on their way to a full staff of both full-time and part-time employees.
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: The Glenn Lounge and Grill
WHERE: 113 N. Cecil St., Bonduel
WHEN: 4-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Food service stops at 8 p.m. New and expanded hours are in the works and will be announced in the future on The Glenn’s Facebook page.
Nikki Bougie, who owns The Glenn Lounge and Grill with her husband, Jeff Bougie, waits for a customer’s order while standing at the bar. “A comfortable, moody, boozy lounge with a small fresh food menu” is how Bougie describes the lounge, located at 113 N. Cecil St. in Bonduel. (Lynn Zaffrann)
Shelly and Dean Egnarski from Pulaski enjoy drinks at The Glenn Lounge and Grill, 113 N. Cecil St. in Bonduel. The Glenn, which opened in March, offers a selection of homemade Old Fashioned mixes. Dean Egnarski is enjoying the Blueberry Bourbon Old Fashioned. (Lynn Zaffrann)
Playing table-top ring toss at The Glenn Lounge and Grill are Pam and Greg Schroeder, who traveled from Pulaski to experience the newly opened boozy bar in Bonduel. The Glenn, which opened in March, offers a mellow atmosphere, specialty cocktails, cozy sofas and chairs. with a small fresh food menu. (Lynn Zaffrann)
