A swing back in time
It was a year ago last April that Mike Yount retired after 26 years in the Wisconsin guard. “I did serve overseas in Iraq. Once my time was up in the Army, I decided that I needed to do something to stay busy. I decided we were going to open a shop here in Baraboo,” Yount said.
See, Yount didn’t just open a business. He and his wife, Jennifer, effectively brought back a bit of nostalgia to the iconic ‘Square’ in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
For those not familiar with Baraboo, it is a beautiful city of around 12,000, located in the Northeast corner of Sauk County. The center of the downtown is an area that residents refer to as the ‘The Square’. Baraboo’s Rockwellian downtown square, in addition to some beautiful old buildings, is home to an array of retail stores that include general merchandise, gift shops, and specialty shops, many unique in their own right.
Yount, with time on his hands, decided to bring back some old-time goodness and opened up the Tin Roof Dairy paying homage to the soda fountain and ice cream parlors of the past.
“Everybody loves ice cream, almost universally, so we thought we really can’t go wrong with that. We bought a nice store. It was really important to us to kind of fit in with the Baraboo feel, downtown square,” Yount said enthusiastically. He feels that in his words, “Baraboo does things right.” With a lot of activity in the downtown it just seemed obvious to him that the restaurant should kind of flow with how Baraboo operates, and what downtown looks and feels like.
So, Yount decided they were going to go with a 30’s/40’s theme and try to relive the past, not only inviting people to enjoy ice cream, but also learn a little bit about ice cream parlors and some of the stuff that was popular in the 20’s and 30’s outside of ice cream. “Hence, the historic soda fountain that we have, it’s fully operational. We had it restored from a company in Chicago, Illinois. It’s fully functional and we are able to make homemade sodas. We can do phosphates. For those who don’t know what a phosphate is, it was very popular in the 20’s and 30’s. It’s a homemade soda, highly carbonated, and then you add just a little bit of phosphoric acid, which combines with the high fizz of that type of drink, and gives it a little bite I guess would be the best way to put it. It combines very nicely with a lot of the flavors that were popular back then in the 30’s and 40’s. We were excited to be able to do that and we can do ice cream floats obviously. It’s just an exciting piece!”, Yount said.
One of the things the Younts wanted to do with the shop was to get some antiques in their establishment that went with the era. Yount shared that they were very lucky in not only finding the soda fountain, but their backbar, a piece from 1932. “It was built in Utah, and actually went to New Mexico and in the 30’s and 40’s was in an ice cream parlor. At some point, it found its way into Arizona to Lake Havasu City. That’s where we found it. It was a great little trip because my dad and I flew out there, rented a truck, loaded this thousand-pound piece in. We had to take it apart then and brought it back,” he said. Noting the backbar to this day has not been restored because of its great condition, Yount shared the stained glass is all original.
Yount’s dad Terry, has been his right-hand man helping him and his wife with this project and labor of love. “He’s also a history lover and actually his very first job was a soda jerk in the mid-50’s. The whole concept of the shop resonated with him (Terry) personally. He also spent 26 years in the Reserves, so we have a family history with the military. So, we made that trip and got stuck in a massive snow storm on our way back right in the mountains of Colorado. It was a total disaster from that standpoint, but quite the trip!”, Yount exclaimed.
What would an era soda shop be without music right? Yount shared, “Our jukebox is an original 1940 Wurlitzer that we got out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was the same deal with my dad and I. We drove and picked it up and brought it back. It was actually working when we got it back.” Yount said the jukebox can be finicky at times and currently not working, but repair is in the near future. Like the backbar, the Wurlitzer is all original and has not been restored. “So, we have three important period pieces in the store that give it the flavor and uniqueness that goes with that,” he said. “We are excited to have those things and be able to offer an experience.”
Opening their doors on the first of June this year, Yount said the summer was just ‘gang-busters’. “We are the only true ice cream parlor in the city of Baraboo. A lot of people know about Baraboo in Wisconsin. We even had a lot of people who were vacationing in the Dells, who made a trip to Baraboo and found us. There were even some occasions where someone had told them about us, and they made a special trip during their vacation in the Dells to come down here and experience the Tin Roof Dairy.”
In addition to the ice cream, coffee, and sodas, it is important to the Younts to hold community-type events. “Hence the USO was really driven as much by putting together a community event. It was my idea. My wife and I game-planned the whole thing. She is my partner in crime and owns the business with me,” Yount said.
Last Sunday, the Tin Roof Dairy held a USO Swing and Hop dance, encouraging attendees to dress in era appropriate dress. The event, attended by over twenty people, saw a majority of them in their twenties.
Yount and his wife were thrilled to see such a turn out, and were happy to see the younger generation taking an interest in the past.
“Our goal is to continue to hold dances and/or events that the community can rally around and enjoy ice cream and a social event. That’s what we want to portray here. That’s what ice cream parlors were in the day, and soda machines. It was a place to gather and talk. We are trying to bring that whole thing back. We let the local military and veteran organizations know, the USO, and also some of the assisted living homes, just in case the activity directors wanted to bring some residents, or some people who wanted to come and experience something maybe they hadn’t done or seen in many, many years.”
Michaela Swift of Baraboo, and her friend Gabriel Oakes from La Crosse, were among those that attended. Both had a special interest in attending though. “I heard about this on the events page for Baraboo,” Swift said. Oakes added, “She told me about it. We do a lot of swing dancing in La Crosse. We are always looking for events to go to. Since she lives in the area, she found out about it and invited me. The time period, retro, it’s got such a great feel!” Swift in agreement said it is nice and she loved the atmosphere. “I haven’t been here very long, but just from what I see, that old time feel. A lot of the buildings are the same. It fits in well with the retro kind of feel,” she said.
On the type of dance of the era Oakes said, “I picked it up about 10 years ago, my first lesson was in Wisconsin Dells. About three years ago, we started a group in La Crosse, because there wasn’t any swing dancing in La Crosse. Me and a couple of friends started a group and got going. We dance just about every Friday night and there’s anywhere from 50 to 70 people. All of the college kids are getting into it. I usually teach about an hour lesson beforehand, so everyone can feel comfortable,” he said with a smile.
Abby Kether whose sister works at the Tin Roof Dairy said, “My sister told me about it. It’s very fun. It’s a great business. It’s a fun place to come hang out. I love the theme of it. Of the different ice cream shops around, this has got more class,”
Baraboo residents David and Cindy Allen, no strangers to dancing, were enthused with the new venue. “We were invited by the owner who saw us dance at other places. It’s Authentic. He really cleared out the dancefloor. Usually there isn’t a place to dance. It’s really nice. I have kids this age. I taught all of my kids how to swing. We got married five years ago, and my kids all wanted us to teach how to swing before the wedding because we had a band.” In agreement David added, “It’s pretty nice. It was the first time we’ve been in here. It was a different business the last time we were here.” The couple noted that there’s not too many dance venues besides the Saturday nights at the lake, and are grateful the Younts have offered yet another with opening their business.
“It’s really easy for me to talk about the shop or the era of the 20’s and 30’s because I’m passionate about what we do here. It’s very important for us to contribute something to Baraboo, and in return, Baraboo contributes to our success. I wouldn’t have it any other way. We are going to continue to raise the bar here and do additional events and hopefully expand our business and make the coming years more successful than this summer was.”
Yount acknowledged his appreciation to the city of Baraboo, giving credence to the support from the beginning. “They have been very supportive of us from the get-go. The downtown organization has been supportive of us. It’s very important for new businesses to have that kind of support and that backstop from the town and organizations that they are trying to join. I’m very appreciative of all of the residents of Baraboo and the leadership of Baraboo. They’ve really helped us along and embraced us. I’m very happy with them.”
Currently employing five right now, the summer with increased traffic saw that number at nine. “In April, we will be hiring to get back to that number. I have five semi-permanent employees. That’s me, my wife, and my brother Trevor. Sue and Bailey are my go-to gals, they pretty much run the joint and are very awesome,” Yount said.
The Tin Roof Dairy has recently started serving soup and sandwiches, in addition to their regular soda and ice-cream line up, and stressed that they do deliver. Yount added with a chuckle, that they had to “one-up Baskin Robbins” by carrying 32 ice-cream flavors.
For more information on the Tin Roof Dairy, visit them at tinroofdairy.com, or on Facebook at facebook.com/tinroofdairy/.
