The Village of Genoa City, seen here during the 2022 observance of the pollinator-friendly No Mow May initiative, is the inspirational namesake hometown for the fictitious Genoa City, Wisc. depicted as a major Midwestern metropolis in the award-winning CBS Television soap opera drama “The Young and the Restless” (1973-). As part of the show’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the producers of “The Young and the Restless” are in discussions with village officials to donate 50 trees to Genoa City for a planned spring planting.
Appearances can be deceiving, especially when it comes to Hollywood’s make-believe magic makeovers.
With its Dollar General variety store, multiple liquor stores, laundromat, bank, mom-and-pop restaurants and bars, gas stations, public schools, churches, small manufacturing enterprises and local indie retailers, 2,995-resident Genoa City looks like many small, quiet communities scattered across Wisconsin.
But dial in your local CBS affiliate weekdays at 11 a.m.—Milwaukee’s WDJT-58, Chicago’s WBBM-2, Madison’s WISC-3 or Rockford’s WIFR-23—and Genoa City takes on a whole new Tinseltown identity as a major Midwestern city full of power struggles, intrigue and steamy sensuality.
On Feb. 9, Genoa City Clerk-Treasurer Kate Dennis reported to village trustees that producers of the long-running CBS soap opera drama “The Young and the Restless” — for a half-century set in a fictionalized fantasy version of Genoa City, Wisc. — are looking to make a special celebratory donation to the show’s real-life hometown.
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“They’re celebrating their 50th anniversary this year...,” Dennis told trustees. “The show’s original producers lived in Chicago and had a summer home in Lake Geneva and they traveled through Genoa City and they loved the name, so they set the show here. They want to commemorate their 50th anniversary by donating 50 trees to the village, so we are in the beginning stages of those conversations.”
Debuting on the CBS Television on March 26, 1973 and renewed by the network through the 2023-2024 broadcast season, “The Young and the Restless” has been the number one daytime drama for 33 consecutive years. The show’s milestone 12,000th episode aired on Dec. 1, 2020, and it’s episode count now stands around 12,500.
“The Young and the Restless” has been taped on Studios 41 and 43 at CBS Television City in Hollywood, Calif. since its debut a half century ago.
Co-created by screenwriter and producer William J. Bell (1927-2005) and his wife, Chicago TV talk show host and soap opera creator Loreley “Lee” June Phillip Bell (1928-2020), “The Young and the Restless” is today a Sony Pictures Television presentation in association with Bell Dramatic Serial Co. and Corday Productions, Inc.
Award-winning “The Young and the Restless,” which spawned the Bell-created sister soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 1987, is credited with revolutionizing the daytime drama standard with strong characters, socially-conscious storylines, romance and sensuality.
The hour-long daily serial soap opera revolves around the rivalries, romances, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional major Midwestern metropolis, Genoa City, Wisc., home to powerful billionaire families living in mansions, sprawling ranch estates and skyscraping penthouses, numerous large corporations and media entities, ritzy four star hotel and restaurants, and large, prominent institutions including high-rise Genoa City Memorial Hospital, Genoa City University, private school Walnut Grove Academy, Katherine Chancellor Park, and Genoa City International Airport.
In a post-meeting interview, Dennis said a Spring 2023 tree planting is in the process of being coordinated between the village and the show’s producers, with discussions ongoing to set a firm date.
Dennis noted that the stateline community gets several calls a year from “The Young and the Restless” fans looking for the fictional Genoa City, a tell-tale sign being inquiries about je-NOH-ah City versus JEN-oh-ah City.
“They have a huge following” Dennis said of the show, noting one memorable caller she talked to asked for sightseeing maps to “treat his wife to a nice vacation in Genoa City.”
Perhaps the couple were wanting to see the Chancellor Estate and Abbott Mansion, catch a brush-with-greatness glimpse of former rock star Danny Romalotti, dine at the fashionable Genoa City Athletic Club, rent a penthouse suite at the Genoa City Hotel, grab a gourmet java and biscotti at Crimson Lights, shop at the upscale Fennmore’s Department Store, and gaze at the majestic sight of Genoa City’s sun-shimmering high rise skyline.
“That’s what they were hoping to see,” Dennis said. “Nope, we don’t have any of it. We don’t have any of the ‘big city’ on the show.”
In photos: Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction: Fish boils, Door County-style
Dining at Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction
In Wisconsin, fish is the menu drawing card on Friday nights. At Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction in Genoa City, a recent Friday dinner crowd fills the main floor dining room for the restaurant’s signature Door County-styled fish boil, a popular Fitzgerald’s menu staple five nights a week. The restaurant, housed in a historic octagon-shaped home, also offers barbecued chicken and pork ribs and a full service bar.
Welcome to the Octagon House
The historic octagon-shaped Welcome J. Miller House at 727 Main St., Genoa City, today houses the popular destination restaurant Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction, famed for its Door County-styled fish boils. The clapboard pre-Civil War home, built in 1852, was continuously owned by the successive generations of the Miller family until its sale to Fitzgerald’s in 1990.
Fish boil cooking action
BELOW: Specializing in destination dining fish boils since 1978, Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction Restaurant is popular for its authentic outdoor Door County-styled fish boils, using cast iron cooking kettles heated over blazing hardwood fires. The popular “eater-tainment” dining experience, watched by diners from the Octagon House dining room or the adjacent outdoor patio, is best known for its spectacular fiery “boil over” theatrics. When the fish are done cooking, a splash of kerosene is thrown onto the fire to create the added fireball boost of heat required to boil over and thus remove the floating fats and oils from the fish.
The Octagon House, a.k.a. Welcome J. Miller House
Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction Restaurant in Genoa City is housed in the historic Welcome J. Miller House (left). The structure, popularly known as The Octagon House, was long home to the Miller family, which operated the adjacent W.J. Miller & Sons Carriage and Wagon Factory, hydro-powered by a mill race off neighboring Nippersink Creek. The Miller family occupied The Octagon House over the span of multiple generations, from 1851-1990. The clapboard home was sold to Fitzgerald’s in 1990.
Terry Klein at the grill
Neither rain nor snow, sleet nor hail, nor dark of night keeps Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction cook Terry Klein from manning his year-round 40-year post at the restaurant’s outdoor grill, where he cooks honey barbecue chicken and bourbon barbecue pork ribs over lump charcoal. The homemade house barbecue sauces are a well kept family secret that has been passed down through the generations.
Anna Popenhagen serves up fish boil dinner
Offering service with a smile, Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction front-of-the-house manager, Anna Popenhagen, serves up the restaurant’s signature Door County fish boil dinner on a recent Friday. The fish boil dinner includes all-you-can-eat North Atlantic cod, small red potatoes, a small sweet onion, house recipe coleslaw, salted rye bread and an apple square dessert. Served with drawn butter, the taste and texture of the boiled cod is very close to that of lobster.
Andrew Soloj with a fresh batch of fish boil cod
Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction cook Andrew Soloj prepares to rush a batch of North Atlantic cod, fresh up out of the wood-fired outdoor cooking kettles, to hungry all-you-can-eat diners on a recent busy Friday night. The restaurant’s popular heritage of serving up traditional Door County fish boils dates back to the restaurant’s 1978 founding.
Gift Shoppe
Amenities at Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction Restaurant include a well-stocked Gift Shoppe run by Tina Fitzgerald. The Gift Shoppe offers browsing diners a variety of one-of-a-kind crafts and gift items from local dealers and area artists.
Kevin Fitzgerald, owner, Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction
Restaurateur Kevin Fitzgerald is the second generation owner of Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction, 727 Main St., Genoa City. Founded by his parents, Jack and Sue Fitzgerald, in Twin Lakes in 1978, the restaurant moved in 1990 to its current home in the historic octagon-shaped Welcome J. Miller House, built in 1852. Along with its signature Door County-style fish boils and lump charcoal-grilled barbecue chicken and ribs, Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction also offers an array of full service bar selections including sodas, bottled beers, spiked seltzers, malternatives, martinis, wines by the glass or carafe, and a wide variety of specialty drinks.
Outdoor sign at Fitzgerald's
LEFT: Since its 1978 founding, Door County-styled fish boils have been the advertised signature specialty at Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction Restaurant, 727 Main St., Genoa City.
Door County-styled fish boil
The Door County-styled fish boil dinner is the big menu item at Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction in Genoa City, accounting for more than 70% of all dinner orders.
Eric Johnson
Reporter
