(Clip that follows was featured in the Clear Lake Reporter Centennial Annual of 12 July, 1951.) Provided by Lyndon Crist (1964)
'Witke's Started Here in 1928'
It was on June 4, 1928 that Bill and Pearl Witke came to Clear Lake and purchased the bath house from Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Willinow, who had operated it for 16 years. From that small beginning Witke's is now known all over Iowa for their fast speed boats and good food.
In the fall of 1928 Mr. and Mrs. Witke purchased the lot where Witke's Cafe now stands. In the same year they built a sandwich stand on their boathouse property and in 1929 erected a cottage adjacent to their bath house, which was later moved off and is now occupied by Mrs. Perkins.
They purchased the equipment and stock of the George Petersen Bath House in the fall of 1931 and the next spring built a larger bath house. The Petersen property was rebuilt into the old Tom Tom Ballroom.
A small cafe was built on their lot across from the sandwich stand in the spring of 1933 and a new kitchen and dining room was added in the spring of 1934.
The Witke Boat Taxi was started in the spring of 1936 with three speed boats and several row boats. The cafe was rebuilt in 1937 and in 1938 the Beach Lunch was rebuilt, adding booth service and a tower on the building.
The cafe part of the business was sold to Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Paquette in 1944 but was repurchased again by the Witkes in 1948. They did extensive remodeling, also adding new
equipment and a new stock and work room, and reopened again on July 22, 1948.
Through the years Witke's have added new speed boats to their Boat Taxi, including the cruiser Miss ClearLake. Bayside dock was added to the business in 1941 and in the spring of 1946 the boat storage building and sales room was built adjacent to the boat house.
Mr. Witke passed away May 8, 1949 and Mrs. Witke now owns and operates their interests with B. A. Morse as manager of the Boat Taxi and Sales and V. N. Minette managing the cafe.
______________
In brief, the cafe part of the Witke business holdings was sold to Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Paquette in 1944 but was repurchased again by the Witkes in 1948. It is my belief that during that four year span there was a name change to 'Kool Stein Cafe'. I presume this was done to avoid promoting the name of the former propietors (Bill & Pearl Witke). At any rate, when ownership reverted back to the Witkes in 1948, extensive remodeling took place, particularly the front facade which was altered from a sun burst deco theme to an inspired mid-century modern banner motif with streamlined 'Witkes' script. It reopened on 22 July, 1948. In the early 1960s the restaurant was enlarged but the distinctive facade remained intact. As with many Clear Lake landmarks, Witke's was destroyed by fire, ca. mid 1980s. The property was subsequently taken over by an array of commercial structures.
