Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

Midwestern supper clubs, like Floyd and Betty’s Lakeside Supper Club that gives Stradal’s novel its name, are a kind of restaurant particular to the American Midwest, specifically Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa. Their origin comes from the repeal of Prohibition in the 1930s; though the first supper club appeared in California, they quickly became a Midwestern staple, characterized by their dance floors, strong cocktails, and frequent live music. Despite their name, supper “clubs” do not charge any kind of club membership or fee, though some allow frequent patrons to bring their own liquor and store it in an on-site locker, suggesting that, as with a more traditional club, patrons would more likely be recurring customers than single-visit ones.

Supper clubs traditionally only served dinner, opening at approximately 4 pm. Their food tended toward simplistic, hearty staples, often sold in large portions, as with the oft-cited prime rib platter in the novel. The atmosphere was designed to be a destination, not merely a place to eat—attending a supper club was a social event, not a practical place to quickly sate hunger. They were common in smaller, more remote towns with little other to offer in the way of entertainment. As writer Natalie Rinn notes in her history of supper clubs, “In the strictest sense of the term, supper clubs exist only where very little else does. A supper club is not just one destination in town; it’s literally the only place to go. And so everyone does” (Rinn, Natalie. “Highway Fine Dining in the Upper Midwest.” TASTE, 28 Aug. 2018). Historians of the supper club emphasize the community aspect of the clubs, noting that they offered a place for groups (families, friends, and townsfolk) to gather.

Though many supper clubs have ceased operation, driven out of business by the proliferation of chains and restaurant conglomerates, many still operate today, with an estimated 400 still open in Wisconsin alone. (“Wisconsin Supper Clubs.” Travel Wisconsin, 2024).