Bow Tie Tavern, 8388 Alpine Ave NW, Sparta ~ July 1, 2025

Out in the country on the corner of 10 Mile and Alpine you will find this historic bar.
There were some fancy cars parked outside.
We walked in the back door to find an empty room, a pool table, and a phone booth.
We rounded the corner and found specials and the bar.
It was fairly busy for a Tuesday night and the ambiance was friendly and comfortable. We started with a Goose Island Beer Hug, two Cherry Wheats, and an Arnold Palmer.
We were not up for their appetizers tonight so we decided to share a couple of deep-fried hot dogs. They came with ketchup, mustard, onion, and pickle, and we quite enjoyed them. Budget-friendly at $2.25 each, they were excellent with a seemingly more intense flavor.
For one of our entrees we chose the Bowtie Burger served with ketchup, mustard, mayo, onion, pickle, lettuce, and tomato. The burger was juicy and delicious and arrived in a fresh bun with crisp lettuce.
The Swiss Mushroom burger was equally satisfying served with mayo, grilled mushrooms, and onion.
The Shaved Ribeye Steak Sandwich was well constructed (swiss cheese, grilled mushrooms and onion) and came with just enough au jus to dip until the sandwich was devoured.
Having a Chef Salad as a special and under $10.00 is unusual for a bar but was most appreciated on this hot day. Ingredients were fresh and the bacon was so crispy!
There is a lot of history tied into this building. The sign says it was established in 1929, when it was probably The Blue Inn, a grocery store. At that time, the town was called Englishville but the town was subsequently destroyed in three fires, 1917, 1924, and 1929. This building survived. It was a store until 1945 and then became Scotty's Tavern. In 1953 Russ Jolstra and Stan Phillips bought the building and renamed it Bow Tie. John and Mary Kaiser bought the bar in 1980 and their daughter, Mary Steinbrecher purchased it from them in 1990. The history is hanging on the walls of the bar.
Jessica was our wonderful server.
Price/value here is quite good - fries can be ordered versus chips with no upcharge. There's no music blaring so you can talk comfortably. You can't find the specials or a current menu online but show up and be surprised. It's closer to GR than we anticipated so take a drive out to the Bow Tie.
We headed out the back door and would be happy to return.

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