House of Embers (Lake Delton, Wisconsin) | restaurant, American cuisine, barbecue restaurant

 restaurant, American cuisine, barbecue restaurant

Also known as: Wally's House of Embers, Wally's House of Embers Grill

Wally and Barbara Obois and Don Grieves bought Ray’s Barbecue from Don’s father Ray Grieves in 1959 and renamed it House of Embers. Barbara and Wally had met at another local restaurant while Wally was tending bar and Barbara was hostessing. Don partnered with the couple for about a year before Wally and Barbara took over sole ownership of the House of Embers in 1960.

The restaurant was not much more than a shack, complete with a dirt basement, and it held about 80 guests in its two rooms, one red and one green. While creating a menu, the couple discovered that a lot of people liked ribs, but they weren’t sure how best to cook the meat. After some trial and error, they found smoking the ribs over hot charcoal embers was the best solution. The restaurant’s name also stemmed from this decision.

In 1976, Wally and Barbara decided to build a new restaurant just behind the original House of Embers. The Oboises continued to operate while the new building was built and only closed for two weeks to move supplies before re-opening in the new restaurant. The picture of Wally and Barbara to the left was on the demolition day of the old building.

In 1998, Barbara and Wally Obois retired. Their son and daughter, Mike Obois (Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY graduate) and Deb Christensen (University of Wisconsin, Madison graduate), took over ownership. Mike is now the chef, while Deb was the financial manager of the restaurant. Most evenings, you will see one or both owners in the restaurant.

In 2011, Mike and Deb added an outdoor dining and bar area. There is no better place to relax with a cold drink and great food in the Dells since the outdoor area was added. There is plenty of seating and a comfortable bar area. House Of Embers hosts weddings, rehearsal parties, holiday parties and more and will also cater to off-premise events.

They also have unique dining rooms, each of them are a highlight of the restaurant, like the Omar Shariff room (since 1976), Rudolph Valentino room (c. 1981), Humphrey Bogart room (around mid-1980's), Tiffany room, Ben Franklin room, and the Veranda room (since 1992). Each room has newspaper and magazine clippings and pictures of yesteryear. Only 2-8 can accommodate each room. Courtesy: www.houseofembers.com/history

House of Embers is famous hickory smoked BBQ ribs, steaks, Italian dishes, and even seafood entrees like lobster, shrimp, Alaskan king crab legs, and fresh fish.

935 Wisconsin Dells Parkway
Wisconsin Dells (Lake Delton), WI 53965
Phone: (608) 253-6411
Fax: (608) 253-CHEF (2433)
Web: www.houseofembers.com/

Open 7 days a week, from 4:30pm-midnight
Happy hour until 6pm

Read more
www.wisdells.com/wisconsin-dells-area/restaurants/house...
www.dellsnightout.com/restaurants/93148/Wally's-House-of-Embers
www.rebeccakilbreath.com/wallys-house-of-embers-wiscons...
www.jsonline.com/features/recipes/57649157.html
www.grandmarquis-dells.com/wisconsin-dells-restaurants-...
roadstraveled.com/destinations/u-s-global/midwest-u-s/w...
www.colorfulplaces.com/destinations/wisconsin-dells-aft...
sudsskiandsocialclub.blogspot.com/2009/01/wallys-house-...
www.metroparentmagazine.com/thingstodo/toppicks/10-clas...

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www.facebook.com/HouseOfEmbers

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foursquare.com/v/house-of-embers/4ba69c9bf964a520d56239...

Watch on YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U2EkwpKl2g

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4K98FdCLVM