Friday fish fry is a local favorite at Wells, Minn., bar and grill

Date Modified: 05/13/2010 9:11 AM

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Wildcats Bar and Grill

Address: 37 South Broadway, Wells, Minn.

Hours: 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Kitchen closes at 10 p.m. 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

Known for: Wildcat Burger, a half pound jalapeno and cheese patty with bacon, fried onions, Swiss and pepper jack cheese. Served with side of barbecue sauce.

Price of Wildcat Burger with side of French Fries: $7.75. Add 50 cents for Wildcats Chips and onion rings for $1.99.

Local favorite: Friday night fish fry.

Other services: Host groom's dinners, receptions and private parties. Take out available.

Call them at (507) 553-3183

Email them at wildcatsbar@gmail.com

WELLS, Minn. — It's hard to miss Wildcats Bar and Grill in downtown Wells. The purple storefront with yellow trim kind of sticks out.

The building has a sit-down restaurant and a bar, which areseparated by a wall. Owner Ben Musser Jr. decorated the bar and his mother, Sally Musser, decorated the restaurant.

The maroon and gold restaurant is decorated with framed art and the bar and grill is decorated with black-and-white photographs from Wells-Easton High School teams. Sports memorabilia is all around. The mascot of Wells-Easton High School was the Wildcats, Musser said.

Naming the bar and grill Wildcats was his father's idea, Musser said. His father, Ben Musser Sr., grew up in Wells.

The Wells-Easton School District merged with Kiester, Bricelyn and Freeborn in 1991 under the name United South Central. Their mascot is the Rebels.

People donated the memorabilia, Musser said, and like to sit by their photographs when they dine at Wildcats.

Musser Jr. and his wife, Christy, both served in Iraq and when they came home they relocated to Wells, where his parents had moved when they retired. Ben and Christy had lived in Chicago, but they didn't want to raise their family there. They are the parents of two daughters.

In 2006, they started on Wildcats with his sister and brother-in-law, Kim and Michael (Toby) Anderson. They opened the bar and grill on March 10, 2007. The Mussers have since bought out the Andersons and moved to a new and roomier location in downtown Wells. Sally Musser prepares meals for Meals on Wheels in the former location and it's also used for private parties.

The new location seats 200-plus. A back patio was completed in early April, just in time for Christy's birthday. The patio features seating, a stainless steel grill and room for live bands and dancing.

Christy grew up in Brooklyn Park and worked in her father's two restaurants. Ben worked in some of Chicago's best restaurants. He does all the cooking at Wildcats Bar and Grill.

"It's not just a burger joint," he said.

He serves prime rib, steaks, walleye and salmon. Mango walleye and mango salmon are popular Friday night entrees. Pan-fried walleye, roasted sirloin and whiskey steak are Friday and Saturday evening specials. Musser prepares barbecue ribs from scratch.

Wildcats also has higher-end liquor, Musser said.

The grill also has a variety of burgers, from the traditional All American Burger, a third pound patty with your choice of cheese served with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, to the Hawaiian Burger, a third-pound patty topped with pineapple, Canadian bacon and thousand island. The morning glory is a third-pound patty topped with a fried egg, cheese, bacon and mayonnaise.

Wildcats also serves melts, wraps, sandwiches, salads and appetizers.

Appetizers include jalapeno poppers, jalapeno halves filled with melted cream cheese, battered and fried, served with ranch, and rueben balls, a rueben sandwich rolled into bite-sized balls and served with thousand island.

The bar and grill is active in the community, sponsoring a race car every year — just look on the wall for proof — and hosts a dart tournament and golf tournament. The first golf tournament is June 19 and the second is in August. The after-tournament party is held at Wildcats.

- Janet Kubat Willette

If you have a favorite restaurant that you would like to have featured in Agri News, drop us a note. You can call us at (507) 285-7659 or e-mail wilmes@agrinews.com.