In photos: Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction: Fish boils, Door County-style
Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction, 727 Main St., Genoa City, is located in a historic, pre-Civil War "Octagon House."
Now in its second generation of Fitzgerald family stewardship, the 44-year-old destination restaurant remains as popular as ever for its signature Door County-styled fish boil dinners.
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
Looking for a new fish fry to check out? Now in its second generation, the octagon house in Genoa City remains as popular as ever for its signature Door County-styled fish boil dinners.
Heading into next week’s spring general election, three candidates are running to fill two seats on the Genoa City Joint 2 School District board.
RACINE— Eight recipients were presented with Governor’s Tourism Awards for their outstanding contributions to the state’s hospitality and travel industry during the 2022 Wisconsin Governor’s Conference on Tourism March 13-15.
Celebrate spring by bidding on 15 artist-rendered birdhouses in the Feathered Friends silent auction at the newly renovated Lake Geneva Public…
Cory Engelbert and Travis Shahulak had intentions of opening their EPTC Baseball back in December 2021, but with shipping having slowed down d…
Looking to turn Genoa City’s manicured residential lawns into an ecologically beneficial feast for struggling populations of native early spri…
Wisconsin’s supper clubs have been enjoying a renaissance thanks to a groundswell of interest in supporting independent restaurateurs; eating …
In an era of sharply-rising price increases running at a 40-year high, news of a price decrease comes as rare but welcome news.
Appearances can be deceiving, especially when it comes to Hollywood’s make-believe magic makeovers.
Let’s be honest, who among us didn’t yearn for a chance to maybe throw a whipped cream pie at a teacher or two growing up?
As part of the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department’s ongoing development of a new $18 million county-wide emergency communications radio syst…
The mystery, behind-the-scenes intrigue, and ever-evolving drama of the popular, long-running CBS daily serial soap opera “The Young and the R…
A new principal and instructional leader will take the reins of Brookwood Middle School in Genoa City for the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
The Genoa City Village Board on Dec. 14 approved the appointment of Twin Lakes resident Jackie Petritis to serve as the 2,987-resident village's new clerk-treasurer, effective Jan. 1, 2024, as outgoing clerk-treasurer Kate Dennis transitions to a new role with the village as development director.
A winning $350,000 SuperCash! ticket was sold in the Saturday, Feb. 22 drawing, with the ticket sold in Walworth County at Genoa City BP Operating Corp. at 100 Elizabeth Lane, Genoa City.
A contested board race is on the Tuesday, April 1 spring general election ballot for the Genoa City Joint 2 School District Board of Education. Three at-large board seats are available in a 4-way race that sees incumbent Karen Druszczak, board clerk, and incumbent Phil Huff, board treasurer, facing challengers Dayna Jones and Shawn Sponenburg.
Volo, Ill. resident Richard Schultz won the $350,000 top prize in the Wisconsin Lottery's Feb. 22 SuperCash! drawing, purchasing his winning ticket from the Genoa City BP. Schultz matched six of six numbers.
