Auctioneer's Inn

The Auctioneer's Inn was a popular Racine County destination for fine dining and entertainment. Fans remember it being located in the "middle of a cornfield" just west of Brown's Lake.  

Owner Hope Waldecker (1928-2002) was both a military veteran and an actual auctioneer who sought to create a unique experience for her customers.  

On May 24, 1970, the Milwaukee Journal Women's Section featured Waldecker's career as "America's Foremost Lady Auctioneer."  She was described as an "awesome Brunhilde in blue denim bell bottoms, blue suede jacket, and a stunning array of Navajo jewelry. 

She was cited as one of the few women in the business, as well as one of the state's leading antiques experts and livestock judges. The article showcased her 100-year-old Caledonia farmhouse, decorated in vintage furnishings such as a chestnut warmer, cast iron skillets, a wood-burning range, and an 1834 steamer trunk.

Waldecker followed her father, Arthur Tousignant, and her grandfather, Carl Tousignant, into the auction business.  She came from a long line of headstrong French-Canadian men.

"I had no brothers, so following footsteps meant being a boy," said Waldecker. "I started learning the business when I was 5."

At age 18, Waldecker joined the United Nations as an interpreter at refugee centers in Europe. After a short-lived marriage, she got involved in the freelance import/export business. In 1956, she returned to the United States. While helping her parents liquidate their Oakland, California antique shop, she demonstrated a flair for sales.

In 1961, she remarried and moved to Mason City, Iowa, where she enrolled in the Reisch American School of Auctioneering.  She had three sons from her first husband (Roger, Douglas, and Jeff) and a son by her second marriage (Brock,) all of whom helped her at auctions.

By 1970, Waldecker's base of operations was north suburban Chicagoland.  She decided to open the Auctioneers Inn just across the state line in rural Kansasville. 

"I was driving around one day and I saw this place," said Waldecker. "It spoke to me. I had found a place to put all my antiques where everyone could see them. I never intended to go into the restaurant business. The restaurant business found me."

When she started renovations, there was neither lighting nor refrigeration in the space.  When it opened on August 20, 1972 -- Waldecker's birthday -- the gala activities included a champagne fountain, hors douevres, a pig roast, live music, horse shoes, and the cutting of a celebratory cake. The restaurant was dedicated in her father's memory.

Opening day ads described as a "little corner of yesteryear, set in a lovely old country inn built in the 1840s, with one of the most exquisite collections of antiques around."  (The property had been a general store from the 1880s to the 1930s, and a "shot and a beer" bar from the 1930s onward.)  

A June 1975 Milwaukee Journal review states, "No daylight is permitted in the interior, which is so filled with antiques that I had the eerie feeling I was arriving at a seance at Miss Havisham's in Great Expectations... every inch of space is taken up with an astonishing collection of carousel horses, naughty Victorian pictures, grandfather clocks, and wooden soldiers."

The Auctioneer's Inn was famous for charcoal broiled steaks, fresh four-pound lobster tails, Colonel Hope's world famous escargot, exquisite hand-shaken cocktails, a fieldstone fireplace nook, flaming dessert coffees, Christmas in July parties, and a gigantic overstuffed tiger. Customers remember the long, narrow bar that was decorated with 66,743 pennies -- and the souvenir bumper stickers declaring "I ate a 3-pound Australian lobster tail."

The restaurant attracted visiting celebrities, including Liberace, Sonny and Cher, Sammy Hagar, the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Van Halen, and others.  It was a draw for guests staying at the nearby Playboy Club in Lake Geneva.

By 1988, the restaurant advertised itself as "the essence of New York Jazz in a Wyoming saloon....for 18 years, the vanguard of quality atmosphere and ambience....the most exquisite authentic Victorian dining in this region. Weekend reservations an absolute must."

In 1990, Waldecker spoke to the Burlington Bureau about the lasting legacy of the restaurant. 

"I have the best food money can buy," said Waldecker. "People don't mind paying for the best, but they hate paying a dime for medicore. I've used the same purveyor for 17 years. They know me. I won't quibble about the price, but I will quibble about the quality."

Waldecker mentioned her desire to retire, as well as her following not letting her. "I've tried three times, and I'm still here." Her son, Jeff, had been the restaurant chef since 1975, and was her intended heir to both her auctioneer rank and restaurant business.

But a decade later, the Auctioneer's Inn was struggling to maintain its sterling reputation. It's possible Waldecker was semi-retired and less involved in the day-to-day operation.  Her absence was noted.

On March 14, 1999, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel food critic Dennis Getto expressed "sticker shock" after seeing the most expensive lobsters he'd ever seen, speculating that a plane ticket to Australia might cost less. His review roasted the long-time destination.

"I'm not opposed to paying good money for good meals, but this seemed outrageous," said Getto. 

"Everything about the restaurant seemed designed to give the impression that this was one of those out-of-the-way places that's a well-kept secret. In actuality, both dinners were marred by tackiness...add to those problems mediocre and inedible food, and I'll admit I was puzzled why so many people were here."

It was the last restaurant review ever written about the Auctioneer's Inn.  Colonel Hope Waldecker passed away on April 23, 2003 at age 75.  The restaurant closed in 2007.

Note: despite confusing advertising that claimed an opening date of 1970, the opening day announcement for Auctioneer's Inn appeared in the July 9, 1972 issue of the Milwaukee Journal. While Waldecker bought the property in 1970, it did not open as a restaurant until two years later.