website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Otto’s Inn
Established 1876
100 E Madison
Otto's
Saloon, Homecoming Parade, 1912, WHS_007_KR168
Carl
Otto and daughters
Lorraine
is seen behind her father
Otto’s
Inn, WHS_005_298 (1975)
became
Embassy
LTD,
Balistreri's
Ristorante,
1985,
Zoellick's Black Forest Inn,
Dynasty
Chinese Restaurant,
2008,
Rock River Pizza, opening of
1913
Carl F Otto,
hotel, saloon
1956
02 06 CITY ASSESSOR IMAGE
1957
Advertisement, City
Directory
Lester Moser
1902 - 1963
1963
Watertown Daily Times, 03
25 1963
Click on
Image
Otto's
Inn at 100 Madison Street, Watertown's nationally known dining place, closed
its doors yesterday until further notice following a fire Sunday morning in
which Lester G. Moser, 60, lost his life by asphyxiation. He was secretary-treasurer of the business
place, operated by Otto's Inn Inc.
Moser,
husband of the former Ruth Otto, who, with her sister, Mrs. Lorraine Deil,
operates the inn, which was established in 1876 by their grandfather, Capt.
Carl Otto [see obit below], a retired Great Lakes skipper, was found dead in
their upper apartment over the tavern part of the inn. Firemen said he was near a window directly
above the tavern facing Madison Street where he collapsed and died.
Just
what caused the fire is undetermined. The loss, estimated by firemen at
$12,000, may run considerably higher.
Mrs.
Moser had just come downstairs from the upstairs apartment and her sister, Mrs.
Deil, had taken breakfast to Mr. Moser who was upstairs in bed, having been
confined there since late January after leaving St. Mary's Hospital where he
had been under treatment for a kidney ailment and where he had undergone
surgery.
Mrs. Deil
said that he had been having his meals upstairs and that yesterday morning she
had taken some cereal, two boiled eggs and toast to him. As she handed him the tray, he remarked,
"Gee, Lorraine you forgot, the milk."
“I’ll
get it," she replied, "I really did forget it, didn't I?" She went downstairs, took up the milk and she
left him sitting up in bed eating his breakfast.
Just
as she reached the bottom of the stairway, she said, she heard a loud blast and
the upper hallway was immediately filled with dense smoke. Efforts to get upstairs failed because of the
choking smoke. Firemen were summoned and responded immediately. By this time smoke was billowing thick and
firemen entered the upper quarters wearing masks. They found Moser in the adjoining room near a
window. He was declared dead.
Fireman
Roland Thiede evacuated Mrs. Florence Reason who occupied an upper room. She suffered from smoke inhalation and was
taken to St. Mary's Hospital where she is a patient. Her condition today was reported fairly good.
Firemen
Harley Rupprecht helped another boarder at the inn, John Oliva who was treated
for smoke inhalation.
Included
in the loss is virtually all of the furniture and furnishings in the apartment
occupied by Mrs. Deil and the Mosers.
Mrs.
Moser said this morning that they had only recently put in new carpeting and
other furnishings. Included in the loss
is a new electric organ and in Mrs. Deil's quarters, in addition to all of her
clothing and private possessions, a grand piano may have suffered some damage.
Two
beds were set up in the downstairs quarters for the night so Mrs. Moser and
Mrs. Deil had a place to sleep.
The
dining room and tavern were closed Sunday and will remain so until further
notice. The sisters said they had no
immediate plans but expect to remodel and repair the damage.
Mr.
Moser was born in Elton, Wis., on Dec. 6, 1902, a son of Mr. and Mrs. George
Moser. He had lived in Watertown the
past 58 years. He married Ruth Otto on
Jan. 12, 1925.
Surviving
are his, wife, a son, Ronald C. Moser, who is an alderman here, two
grandchildren and his mother, Mrs. Marie Moser of Watertown. His father preceded him in death.
Mr.
Moser was a member of the Watertown Immanuel Lutheran Church. He was also a
member of Watertown Lodge No. 49, F. and A. M., Watertown Chapter No., 11,
Royal Arch Masons, and of Zor Shrine Temple, Madison.
He was
also a member of Olivet Commandery No. 18, Knights Templar and Watertown
Chapter No. 44, Order of Eastern Star as well as Watertown Lodge No. 666,
B.P.O.E., Lodge No. 830, Loyal order of Moose, Lincoln Lodge. No. 20, Knights
of Pythias and the Calanthe Club.
The
funeral service will be at the Hafemeister Funeral Home. The Rev. A. S. Christensen will officiate and
there will also be Masonic rites, both at the funeral home and at Oak Hill
cemetery where interment will take place.
Mr. Moser
was one of the city’s most widely known residents, popular and, well
liked. He had a keen sense of humor and
many likeable traits which won and kept friendships throughout lifetime.
Was Skilled Candymaker
Before
becoming associated with Otto’s Inn, Mr. Moser was a highly skilled candymaker.
He learned the trade at the former Baumann Candy
Kitchen in West Main Street, where the Tri-County Tobacco Co. is now
situated.
He was
an expert candymaker and confectioner.
After
the death of A. E. Baumann, Mr. Moser, who had worked for Mr. Baumann for many
years, took over the business and operated it until he went to the Otto
establishment.
The
Baumann Candy Kitchen was for years the leading establishment of its kind in
Watertown. An ice cream parlor was
operated in connection with the business.
In the
line of fine candies, Baumann's was among the leaders in this section of the
state. Its many excellent home made candies, both hard varieties and
chocolates, were among its best known products.
It also turned out tons of special Christmas candies each year. These
were sent far and wide to stores and shops and included many of the little
German candies which at one time were so popular during the holiday season and
which added color and holiday sparkle on Christmas trees and in candy dishes.
Mr.
Moser helped turn out many of these famous candies and continued the business
until he made the change to helping operate the inn.
04 11 Otto’s Inn will reopen its widely known
eating place. The dining room has been
closed since a fire swept an upper apartment in the building on March 24. The tavern, which, like the dining room, is
located on the main floor, was closed for several days as a result of the fire
but reopened some time ago. It was
decided to keep the dining room closed until it could be thoroughly cleaned and
refurbished and that has now been completed.
1966
07 20 Otto
s Inn Is Taken Over By Foster Pagel
Foster
Pagel, operator of the Sharp
Corner Tavern and before that manager of the Bowl-'A-Fun, today assumed the
operation of the famed dining spot, including the tavern, the dining room and
kitchen. Mr. Pagel
will continue to operate the Sharp Corner Tavern also until the first of the
year.
For
the present Mrs. Louis Diel and her sister, Mrs. Lester Moser will continue in
charge of the kitchen until such time as a new management under Mr. Pagel is installed in that operation. Mrs. Diel and Mrs. Moser are granddaughters
of the founder of Otto's Inn, the late Capt. Carl Otto, Sr., who was a Great
Lakes captain before he settled in Watertown and opened a tavern which grew
into Otto's Inn. Later his son, the late
Carl Otto and his wife operated the establishment, building it into a widely
known eating place, noted for its outstanding home cooking. Since the death of their parents, the two
sisters have operated the place. Both
planned some time ago on retirement.
Mrs. Diel and Mrs. Moser plan to continue living in then-present second
floor apartment until such time as they make other plans.
People
from as far away as the New England States have heard or read about Otto's Inn and
every season some of them find themselves in Wisconsin and Watertown and
invariably recall the place and ask its location. The listing in Duncan Hines some years ago
gave it a national reputation.
Otto's
Inn dates back to 1876. In its early
years it had a row of stables at the rear of the building where farmers stabled
their horses when they came to town to shop or attend church services. It was one of the most popular stopping
places for rural folk in the city and in the days of the horse and buggy many
people made it their headquarters when they came to Watertown.
1980s
Location of BALISTRERI'S RISTORANTE
1985
02 13 ZOELLICK'S BLACK FOREST INN
Zoellick's Black Forest Inn, 100 Madison Street, will celebrate
its grand opening on Saturday and Sunday.
Herb and Betty J. Zoellick, new owners and operators, said music will be
featured all weekend along with dining and bar specials. Mrs. Zoellick, manager of the restaurant, has
worked in the food business all her life.
Her husband, who works full time at Kennedy Chevrolet as a service
technician, helps operate the restaurant evenings and weekends. Bar manager of the restaurant is Julie
Kulkee. Bartenders are Mike Schilling,
Jim Berryman, John Haberkorn and Julie Timm.
Head waitress, in charge of the dining room, is Nancy Schultz. Waitresses include Cindee Sterwald, Jean
Carnes, Julie Timm, Dianne Grosenick and Terry Melcher. WDT
1987
09 25 MITCHELLS’
ON MADISON
Watertown’s landmark restaurant at 100 East Madison Street has new
owners and a new look on the outside.
Now called Mitchells’ on Madison, the restaurant and lounge was recently
opened by Jim and Sharon Mitchell who moved here from Elkhorn with their son,
Tony, 10, a fifth grader at Douglas Elementary School. Formerly the Black
Forest, the restaurant was at one time called Otto’s Inn and was well known for
its German food.
1994
DYNASTY CHINESE RESTAURANT
2008
ROCK RIVER PIZZA, opening of
2010
BEST INTERIOR
RENOVATION PROJECT AWARD
Randy Trella, owner of Rock River Pizza Co., was named the
co-winner of the 2009 Best Interior Renovation Project award at the 20th annual
Wisconsin Main Street award ceremony. Trella purchased the former Hong Kong Cafe building in 2006
and completely gutted the structure. The
building's kitchen was replaced and new equipment was installed, including an
exhaust system, walk-in coolers and a stone hearth fire-deck oven. The project also consisted of repairing a
brick wall, installing new windows, replacing the rest rooms and reinforcing
and leveling the floor. A fireplace was
also added to the bar area to enhance the atmosphere.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Capt.
Otto
03 31 1916
Captain Charles Otto, a well known
resident of Watertown, died last Monday afternoon in the family home, 212 East
Water Street. He had been in failing
health the past five months and his death was not unexpected. Mr. Otto was a native of Pommern Germany,
being born on the Island of Veline, June 25, 1841. He came to this section when a child, the
family settling in the town of Lebanon and later in Watertown. When a young man he engaged as a sailor on
the great lakes which calling he followed twenty-seven years, a greater portion
of which time he was captain of a vessel.
Mr. Otto served as chief of the Watertown Fire Department and was a member of the
Plattdeutscher Verein. He was one of the city’s best known men,
possessed of a cheerful disposition and had a host of friends. He was united in marriage with Louise Lange
who with two daughters and one son surviving:
Mrs. August Tanck, Mrs. Henry E. Krueger, Carl F. Otto, Watertown.
Cross References:
1908:
CARL OTTO AT BAND OUTING
LORRAINE AND RUTH OTTO
Daughters
of Carl F. Otto, granddaughters to Capt. Carl L Otto, owners of Otto's Inn at
100 Madison St.
BALISTRERI'S
Italian American Ristorante
Known
as 'Otto's Inn' since 1876, the establishment at the northeast corner of
Madison & First Streets became 'J.J.'s Embassy LTD' nearly 100 years
later. After several years, 'Balestreri's' began operating at the location after which
it became 'Zoellick's Black Forest Inn' in 1985. The 'Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant' occupied
the building after that and since 2007, 'Rock River Pizza Co.' has been serving
up Italian fare at the historic building.
In late 1983, Charles and Betty Balestreri
along with William O'Brien and David Nielsen, formed a partnership and
purchased the 'Welcome Inn Hotel' at 700 East Main Street where the Balestreri's managed the hotel as well as the restaurant
facilities.
History of Watertown,
Wisconsin