For nearly 125 years, the historic building near Wausau’s old train depot has fed the city under many names — from the bustling St. Paul Buffet for early rail passengers to (quite possibly) Wausau’s very first Chinese restaurant. Now, the iconic East Side space is getting a fresh lease on life. Opened in July, Hiawatha Social strips away the screens of its recent sports bar past to focus on the timeless art of conversation, blending supper club staples with modern craft cocktails.
Behind the bar of Hiawatha Social is J-J de Roover, a San Francisco native who’s called Wausau home for nearly 20 years. After being laid off from his job in the tech industry, de Roover took it as an opportunity to set his sights on a lifelong passion: food and drink.
“I kind of grew up in the restaurant industry,” de Roover said. “My mom was a chef in San Francisco. I’ve done a lot of stuff in the kitchen. As soon as I was old enough to reach over the counter and hold a knife, I was prepping food. Putting a smile on people’s face with food and drink, it was kind of core to what my family did.”
The man behind the kitchen is Clint Schultz, who previously owned Urban Street Bistro. De Roover was a longtime patron of Schultz’s food truck years ago and eventually approached Schultz about catering his wedding. That was the catalyst that sparked their friendship.
“Now to be partnering with him is just great,” de Roover said. “Clint has it locked down in the kitchen. He’s amazing.”
The duo came together shortly before Christmas 2025, when Hiawatha Sports Bar (established in 2022) closed down and the building went up for sale. Schultz approached de Roover about going into business together. For de Roover, it was a dream come true.
“I always dreamed of owning a bar,” he said. “I love making cocktails. It’s what I do at home; it’s a fun thing to create something new, so it just felt like right move.”
After acquiring the property, Schultz and de Roover spruced up the building and made some minor renovations to the interior — a delicate balance of retaining the historic charm while modernizing the decor and bringing things back to basics.
“We took down most of the TVs to go with a more minimalist design,” de Roover said. “We want to let people focus on basically three things: food, the drinks and each other.”
And that’s how the restaurant got its new name. Schultz and de Roover kept the “Hiawatha” part for historical purpose, as the name has been associated with the location for more than 50 years. They added “Social” to signal the shift in atmosphere as a place to bond over food and conversation.
“Now when I go around and talk to people they talk about how there’s no the TVs on,” de Roover said. “They say they’re really enjoying this food and I see people talking to each other. I see people lingering at their tables talking even after they’re done eating.”
In approaching their menu, Schultz and de Roover pulled things back and started with essentials, focusing on providing quality dishes with great ingredients and care. Guest favorites so far have been the pub fish fry (which de Roover admits to eating for dinner three nights in a row after opening) and the mushroom Swiss hamburger, which is ground in-house. Similarly, steaks are cut and dried in-house. It’s all part of the authentic, hand-crafted approach that defines the menu at Hiawatha Social.
“That level of hand work — not buying a burger but making it — those things they make a difference,” de Roover said.
That philosophy from Schultz’s kitchen extends to de Roover’s bar, where classic cocktails are handcrafted with attention, distinct twists and quality ingredients.
“We’re going for really good quality ingredients, fresh-squeezed juices and absolute consistency,” he said. “We don’t free pour things, we measure things. Because whether you order it from me behind the bar or one of my other bartenders, it should taste the same.”
So far the reception has been positive, and Hiawatha Social is slowly expanding their menu with more dishes. Work is also underway to update the dining room with additional seating in the coming months, just in time the weather turns too cold for dining on the enclosed patio.
But as the menu and physical space continue to grow, de Roover and Schultz remain anchored to their core mission. For them, success is measured by much more than just what comes out of the kitchen.
“The outcome isn’t just putting food on a plate. The outcome is the experience somebody has here,” de Roover said. “That’s the outcome we care about.”
Hiawatha Social, located at 713 Grant St. in Wausau, is open Thursdays through Saturdays.
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