Bar and grill opens in Burlington Junction
KAITY HOLTMAN/DAILY FORUM
Matt Rohlmeier celebrated the opening of his new restaurant, Hwy 136 Roadhouse, last week with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting. He, with his family, friends and employees, hosted representatives from the business community.
Burlington Junction resident Matt Rohlmeier opened his new bar and grill, Hwy 136 Roadhouse, in October.
The building, which sits at 602 W. Main St. in Burlington Junction, began as a hardware store. Once that business slowed, Rohlmeier rented the space out for events and then to a renter who turned it into Backroad Bar and Grill.
When the renter closed that restaurant, Rohlmeier decided to give the restaurant business a try. He noticed that many patrons would come in and want a drink with their meal, so he decided to serve alcohol, making it a full bar and grill.
Hwy 136 Roadhouse is open for lunch from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. 7 days a week. Monday through Thursday they reopen from 5-8:30 p.m. for dinner, and on Friday and Saturday they’re open from 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
The menu offers many typical bar-and-grill favorites, including fried foods. He also offers daily lunch specials, including fried chicken, hot beef combo, and chicken fried chicken, with sides. New to the restaurant is a pizza oven, and with a variety of meats and vegetables, Rohlmeier said they try to make pizzas to order.
“We’re also trying to get the word out to churches to come in for our fried chicken special after church,” he said. “Currently a lot of people from the Christian Church come in, but we’d love to see other local church congregations come in as well.”
Rohlmeier said he did a few minor renovations and changed the decorations to make it his own.
One entire side of the restaurant includes a hang-out type atmosphere, with pool tables, foosball tables, dart boards, a jukebox, and a claw game machine. Seating options include tables, booths and bar stools.
He said he is very grateful for the work his family and friends put into making the restaurant a reality.
“A lot of free labor went into making this work,” Rohlmeier said. “I couldn’t have done it without the help and support of those people, and we appreciate the community coming down and supporting us, too.”
He said business is picking up, but he knows there is a lot more potential.
While it softly opened earlier this fall, Hwy 136 Roadhouse will celebrate its grand opening with a New Years Eve party. Musician Tyler Folkerts will play from 9 p.m. to closing at 1:30 a.m., and the kitchen will be open all night.
“We’ll have pizza ovens and fryers going all night, and I have a guy doing pork for sandwiches too,” he said. “We’ll have a $5 cover charge, drink specials and giveaways throughout the night.”
