HARTFORD, Wis. — The Pike Lake community in Hartford is rallying around Uncle Larry's Rustic Inn amid legal battles by putting up yard signs that read, "We Support Uncle Larry's Rustic Inn."
A viewer emailed TMJ4 News and said the debate about whether or not the restaurant should close is a story worth reporting on.
"The support is outstanding," owner Larry Goeman said. “Maybe without all of the support, we would’ve just given up.”
"All of the neighborhood is upset about this," neighbor Jeany Oswald said. "It's been there 100 years. There is no harm in having that bar there."
"We don't have anywhere to go," Josh Neu said. "There are really no more establishments on the lake that can host this, so it's frustrating."
It all started in 2018 with a lawsuit filed against Uncle Larry's after neighbor Jim Doubleday claimed the restaurant lapsed its non-conforming property use, meaning it needed to go back to being a residential property. Goeman fought the claim and lost in circuit court and appellate court, and is now taking the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Watch: Pike Lake community rallies around Uncle Larry's Rustic Inn amid legal battle over restaurant's future
"Even though we're right in the middle of it, we don't understand why," Goeman said. "But, we'll abide by what the courts of law and the Town of Hartford has for us."
Doubleday said he filed the suit in 2018 and said it's all about following the law and wanting a quiet neighborhood.
"There have been so many issues with the traffic, semis, blocking the road," he said. "And bright lights on all night long."
He and his wife Chris, understand that most of the community is against them on this.
"We've received an awful lot of terrible, hateful messages and posts about us," he said. "We're sorry that it affects people in the way that it does. But, we are and have been wronged since we first brought this up in 2018."
Uncle Larry said they've tried to be good neighbors and they want to stay open.
"There is nothing we did not do to appease the neighborhood and the Town of Hartford," Goeman said. "All of the effort we put into everything does pay off."
He thanks the community for showing up to town meetings and putting up signs to support his business.
He said he does not know if or when the state Supreme Court will take on his case.
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