Green Lake's Quiet Season Comes With a Lot of Changes in Ownership

"When I turn the key and shut that starboard engine off for the last time, I don't know," Capt. Mike Lehner told the Ripon Commonwealth Press this month. "I may want to run out and pop a cork or I might be sitting there in tears."

That last turn of the key comes on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the end of a private cruise aboard the Escapade. Lehner has spent seven years in the captain's chair of that 65-foot tour boat out of the Heidel House. His retirement is the most personal piece of a bigger fall. Between now and Thanksgiving, decisions will be made about the future of the Heidel House, the Goose Blind, the Green Lake Inn, Evensong Spa and the Manor on Green Lake. Norton's of Green Lake is already in its first fall under a new owner. Almost all of these places stay open while it happens, so this fall, residents are both watching the changes and still the people walking in the door.

The boat that depended on a borrowed dock

The Escapade's story explains why so much is changing at once. The boat belongs to Thom and Gennie Lemmenes, not to the hotel. After Green Lake Hotel Group LLC and Lighthouse Development Group bought the Heidel House at the end of the pandemic, the owners worked out an arrangement to use the hotel's dock. Lehner called it a good working arrangement that kept the cruises going.

The boat has been through hard stretches before. The Heidel House closed for two years starting in May 2019, and the Escapade spent about two and a half years in dry dock. During that time Lehner captained the 2019 cruises aboard the J. Lawson, out of the Green Lake Conference Center. With the Heidel House "undergoing another major reconfiguration," he says no replacement captain is being trained, and he does not know whether the boat will run next year. "If I have to have a new ownership group or a new group that does the booking, it takes a while to get the right chemistry," he said.

The 2026 public tours ran on Saturdays from June 6 through Sept. 26, so the last public cruise of the season has already sailed. Each 75-minute tour came with Lehner's running commentary on the lake's history and the notable homes along its shoreline. If he did not go out this summer, that narrated loop around Big Green Lake may now be a memory, unless someone new takes the helm in 2027.

What is actually proposed at 653 Illinois Ave.

The "reconfiguration" Lehner mentioned is a plan announced on July 17, 2026. Green Lake Hotel Group and Everest Hospitality proposed splitting the Heidel House property roughly down the middle. Everest would buy about 5.5 waterfront acres, including the historic east building. Green Lake Hotel Group would keep about 6.5 acres on the west side, remove the existing west building and develop a residential village of single-family homes. The plan includes a pool and clubhouse, private boat slips and a fitness center. Everest would replace the lost rooms with a new hotel condominium building on the east side.

The announcement says the hotel is expected to stay open during the transition. At an August Committee of the Whole briefing in a packed council chamber, Lance Schaefer of Everest Hospitality said the finished hotel would have somewhat fewer units, but larger two- and three-bedroom ones. He described the goal as being "viable for the next 25 years and beyond." He also said dock improvements were planned so boaters could tie up more easily and walk to the restaurants. Mayor Ray Radis, who had worked with both developers, gave the committee his view plainly: "The alternative was to tear it down, so just let that sink in."

Here is the part that is still undecided. The Plan Commission took up a four-lot certified survey map and a planned-unit development for 20 waterfront homes on Sept. 14. The city council's special meeting on Sept. 28 included a public hearing and an ordinance adding a planned-unit development overlay at 653 Illinois Ave. As of Sept. 30, the city had not posted minutes for either meeting. Schaefer said in August that if every body approves, demolition could start as soon as mid-October, with hotel functions finished in late 2027. The homes could take longer, because the lots will be sold rather than finished houses. Those dates were conditional when they were given, and they still are.

For now, the restaurants are still serving. Oakwood Restaurant's page welcomes the public any time of year, with breakfast daily and dinner and the bar Tuesday through Saturday. Waves Pub and Grill lists lunch, dinner and drinks every day and invites boaters to use its free public dock. The posted hours do not promise a winter schedule, so call ahead once the weather turns.

Across the water, the same question with a different owner

The Heidel House is one of several places on the lake facing the same question. Matt Rogatz has lived in Chicago for more than 30 years and spent the past five buying Green Lake landmarks. He bought the Green Lake Inn in 2021, the Goose Blind Bar & Grill and Evensong Spa in 2022, the Green Lake County Safety Building in 2023 and the Manor on Green Lake, the old Angel Inn, in 2024, along with six other properties. Now he is selling them through a silent auction set for Nov. 17.

His reason is family. "It's hard to run a bar, restaurant, spa, hotel, when you're not present," he told the Ripon Commonwealth Press. Under silent-auction rules he can accept, reject or counter offers, and he can sell any property before the auction date. He has shown five so far, and the Goose Blind, which he calls "a turnkey operation," has drawn the most interest. No buyer has been named. He said he hopes local business people come forward.

The Rogatz and Heidel House plans aim for the same thing. "My goal was to try and make Green Lake a year-round destination," Rogatz said. Mark Franzen of Green Lake Hotel Group used nearly the same words about the Heidel House, saying the aim was to make it "not only viable, but vibrant year-round." Two owners with the same year-round goal are both handing their properties to someone else this fall.

Norton's of Green Lake shows what a completed sale can look like. Gage Marine Corporation became the owner on June 1, 2026. Its announcement says the restaurant will operate as Norton's by Gage and keep the Norton's name, its "Est. 1948" heritage, the menu classics and the team. The current hours page lists dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 4 to 10 p.m. at 380 South Lawson Dr. This is the first off-season under the new owner, and at least on paper it looks the same as before.

The dates that matter between now and the new year

The December listings are worth noticing. The Heidel House is booking its holiday season even while plans for the property are under review, which matches the announcement's promise that the hotel stays open.

October on the calendar that is not changing

Away from the lakefront, the October schedule in town looks like any other fall.

• Thrasher Opera House, 506 Mill St.: The Jimmys play Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., and The Dreamboats play an afternoon show Oct. 4 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel play two nights, Oct. 22 and 23, at 7:30 p.m. The Rocky Horror Picture Show screens Oct. 24, with a midnight showing as the calendar turns to Oct. 25. The Chamber lists the Oct. 24 start as 7:30 p.m. and the Ripon Press lists 7 p.m., so check with the Thrasher before you go.
• Stuart's Landscaping Fall Market, Oct. 10: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 6204 Busse Road, with pumpkins, mums, local vendors and a petting zoo.
• From The Land Folk Art Festival, Oct. 17 and 18: The 26th annual festival runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Toll/Londowski Family Farm and Heritage Hemp Farm, W1648 County Road J, north of town. Music runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days.
• Town Square Community Center, 492 Hill St.: A sound healing meditation runs Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to noon in Studio A, $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Spooktacular Bingo is Oct. 31. Doors open at 5 p.m., card sales start at 5:30, and games run 6:30 to 8:45.

The best time to visit the lakeside places is now, while they are quiet and before anything changes hands. That means a weeknight dinner at Waves, a drink at the Goose Blind or a table at Norton's. Rogatz put it simply: "Hang around in Green Lake when very few people are there and it's nice and quiet in the offseason."

We will keep following the Heidel House decision and the Nov. 17 auction as the official record comes in. If you own on the lake and wonder how changes like these might affect your stretch of shoreline, Green Lake Properties is glad to talk it through over coffee. Contact us.