SHIOCTON, Wis. (WFRV) – Dick Wickesberg spent a lifetime building River Rail into the restaurant, bar and banquet hall the community in Shiocton knows and loves and now he is coming to terms with closing the business.
“I could see things were going a little bit south there and rather than having people that were having a lot of bad experiences I felt it was better for us to shut it down,” said Dick Wickesberg, the owner of River Rail.
He said he had no option but to close after he could not get enough staff to cover the busy restaurant.
“We have too big of an area to take care of, we tried to cut back on some of the areas not serving, and it just made it more difficult,” said Wickesberg.
He said it was not easy to close the doors on his legacy.
“A lot of great experiences and one thing about, one thing about Shiocton it’s a small town but it’s got a big heart,” said Wickesberg.
Wickesberg said he hopes the right buyer comes along to bring the place back but in the meantime, he is planning on honoring any events he booked for the future. Once those are done the business will shut its doors for good.
He also said despite being very emotional about his decision he also feels relief knowing he no long has to work 70 hours a week in his 70’s.