04/21/2025
In 1989, I was a 14-year-old dishwasher, epically bad, shattering plates while cooks turned grease into poetry. Their grit hooked me. By 1996, Cafe Espresso’s Chef Tim McLean and Owner James “Himy” Wilson fanned that spark into a blaze. From suds to slinging drinks, I mastered every role, learning food is love, not just work. In 2002, my parents opened Archies 1.0 I managed it—a neighborhood corner bar—dreaming bigger than my skills could cash.
Fatherhood hit, and my daughter’s eyes demanded more than a dive bar could give. I enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in NYC. But life doesn’t plate neatly: personal turmoil and a stint in jail knocked me flat. I fought back, cooking in Green Bay and the Fox Cities best chef-owned spots. Then COVID sneered “nonessential,” gut-punching my pride. I sold my knives—my soul—vowed to quit, and sank into whiskey. My buddy Joshua Tenor hauled me to musky fishing, trading barstools for bobbers. I flirted with trucking until a 2021 chef’s text (“When can you be here?”) reignited my fire.
A sleazy restaurateur’s offer followed—shady, but a launchpad. I built his joint into a must-visit, charming customers and meeting my soulmate Tera Diedrick. Along with a few other of our incredible staff. When he droned “everyone’s replaceable,” I bolted. Archies 2.0 rose as my parents retired. This 34-seat dive bar, forged from hardworking holdovers of the original, former coworker and newbies who enjoy the journey we’re all on together, my scars and French techniques, flips “nonessential” the bird. Every plate carries my fight, our fight. Come for hand-crafted food, stay for the dive bar mood. And in the words of The Last Magnificent Chef Jeremiah Tower “ If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing in style, and on your own terms, and nobody else’s “ 🍻❤️🙏
