One of the most historic, and unique, taverns in Wisconsin will close after more than 100 years in operation.
Leo and Leona’s in tiny Newburg Corners, on Hwy. 33 near La Crosse, has been in business since 1898. Farmers, travelers from urban areas, sports figures, etc. have all hoisted one, or more, in the place.
In many ways, the lyrics from the old TV show Cheers fit L&L:
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
But, all good things must come to an end, and the legendary tavern will close in late October. “It’s time,” says owner Leona Cavadini, who has been operating the tavern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for the last several years.
During those years, and all the years when Leona’s husband, Leo, was still alive, they made people “take a break from all your worries” and they always seemed “glad you came.” Indeed, it seemed like “everybody knows your name” at Leo and Leona’s.
“I think Mom and Dad always made people feel at home,” said Alan Cavadini, one of four children who were raised in the living quarters above the tavern. “I think people knew it was more than just a place you stopped for a beer. People would come in and say they remembered when they had come into the place as a kid with their father and mother.”
Leona, who is 85, has lived above the bar for much of her adult life. Her parents, John and Salome Korn, bought the business in 1940, but the family continued to live on their dairy farm. The kids, including Leona, worked on the farm and in the tavern.
Leo and Leona bought the bar in 1951 and moved in upstairs. They bought the land from their landlord in 1963.
Old photos of the building date it to 1898. A dance hall was added in 1900, according to one old photo. One old photo shows more than 100 people posed outside the place with wagons, bicycles and horses.
“You wonder where all the people came from,” Leona said. “They were more than lived in any town around here.”
Memorabilia Everywhere
Old photos and other memorabilia are everywhere in Leo and Leona’s. Beer signs that are decades old, funny sayings, photos of family and patrons, hang from the walls. “Leo could never throw anything away,” Leona says with a smile.
Leo, a WWII vet, wasn’t shy about displaying his political leanings. Photos of John Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman hang above the bar.
Leo also wasn’t shy about his sports preferences. Brewers and other sports teams pennants, photos and bobbleheads can be found around the place, but tops on the list was the Packers.
“We had big Packers’ crowds right up until a couple years ago,” Leona recalled. “I didn’t know how to tell the people when I didn’t want to open during the days on Sundays anymore.”
Another team, the New Orleans Saints, adopted the tavern as their hangout when they trained in La Crosse and adopted Leo and Leona as fans.
“Leo said he would always be a Packers’ fan, but they could be No. 2,” Leona recalled. “They said ‘that isn’t too bad’.”
The Saints hosted Leo and Leona in a private box at the Superdome for a game with the Packers. “Leo told me not to cheer for the Packers because we’d be with the Saints alumni,” Leona recalled. “Right at the end, we beat them, and I couldn’t help myself.”
During that trip, the Saints also arranged for Leo and Leona to get a football, autographed by Bart Starr.
The Saints also sent a jersey with “Cavadini” on it to the church for Leo’s funeral. He died at 77 in 1997, on the couple’s 46th wedding anniversary.
Players, coaches and others came from some of the other teams that trained in the Wisconsin Cheese League at the time. One was former Bear great Dick Butkus, who once objected to a tee shirt in the bar that reads “Da Bears Suck.”
“He asked Leo, ‘is that necessary’?” Leona said. “Leo said, ‘No, but it’s a good seller.’ Butkus just laughed.”
Some of the memorabilia, from the old dance hall, will be sold at a Sept. 18 auction. A second auction, of things in the bar room itself, will be held Oct. 30, according to the auctioneer.
Leona will move to a duplex in St. Joseph, where she will have more room than ever in her life, including a card room.
“I hope some of the people will still come to play cards,” she said. “I won’t miss the work, but I will miss the people.”
Leona has longevity on her side. Her mother is still alive at 107. Leona plans on spending time with her, the kids and grandkids and some of the bar patrons who have become much more.
“We never had educations and lived all our lives up here on this ridge,” Leona said. “We never thought we were doing anything special, but people did seem to like coming here.”
That was because:
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
Leo and Leona’s in tiny Newburg Corners, on Hwy. 33 near La Crosse, has been in business since 1898. Farmers, travelers from urban areas, sports figures, etc. have all hoisted one, or more, in the place.
In many ways, the lyrics from the old TV show Cheers fit L&L:
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
But, all good things must come to an end, and the legendary tavern will close in late October. “It’s time,” says owner Leona Cavadini, who has been operating the tavern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for the last several years.
During those years, and all the years when Leona’s husband, Leo, was still alive, they made people “take a break from all your worries” and they always seemed “glad you came.” Indeed, it seemed like “everybody knows your name” at Leo and Leona’s.
“I think Mom and Dad always made people feel at home,” said Alan Cavadini, one of four children who were raised in the living quarters above the tavern. “I think people knew it was more than just a place you stopped for a beer. People would come in and say they remembered when they had come into the place as a kid with their father and mother.”
Leona, who is 85, has lived above the bar for much of her adult life. Her parents, John and Salome Korn, bought the business in 1940, but the family continued to live on their dairy farm. The kids, including Leona, worked on the farm and in the tavern.
Leo and Leona bought the bar in 1951 and moved in upstairs. They bought the land from their landlord in 1963.
Old photos of the building date it to 1898. A dance hall was added in 1900, according to one old photo. One old photo shows more than 100 people posed outside the place with wagons, bicycles and horses.
“You wonder where all the people came from,” Leona said. “They were more than lived in any town around here.”
Memorabilia Everywhere
Old photos and other memorabilia are everywhere in Leo and Leona’s. Beer signs that are decades old, funny sayings, photos of family and patrons, hang from the walls. “Leo could never throw anything away,” Leona says with a smile.
Leo, a WWII vet, wasn’t shy about displaying his political leanings. Photos of John Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman hang above the bar.
Leo also wasn’t shy about his sports preferences. Brewers and other sports teams pennants, photos and bobbleheads can be found around the place, but tops on the list was the Packers.
“We had big Packers’ crowds right up until a couple years ago,” Leona recalled. “I didn’t know how to tell the people when I didn’t want to open during the days on Sundays anymore.”
Another team, the New Orleans Saints, adopted the tavern as their hangout when they trained in La Crosse and adopted Leo and Leona as fans.
“Leo said he would always be a Packers’ fan, but they could be No. 2,” Leona recalled. “They said ‘that isn’t too bad’.”
The Saints hosted Leo and Leona in a private box at the Superdome for a game with the Packers. “Leo told me not to cheer for the Packers because we’d be with the Saints alumni,” Leona recalled. “Right at the end, we beat them, and I couldn’t help myself.”
During that trip, the Saints also arranged for Leo and Leona to get a football, autographed by Bart Starr.
The Saints also sent a jersey with “Cavadini” on it to the church for Leo’s funeral. He died at 77 in 1997, on the couple’s 46th wedding anniversary.
Players, coaches and others came from some of the other teams that trained in the Wisconsin Cheese League at the time. One was former Bear great Dick Butkus, who once objected to a tee shirt in the bar that reads “Da Bears Suck.”
“He asked Leo, ‘is that necessary’?” Leona said. “Leo said, ‘No, but it’s a good seller.’ Butkus just laughed.”
Some of the memorabilia, from the old dance hall, will be sold at a Sept. 18 auction. A second auction, of things in the bar room itself, will be held Oct. 30, according to the auctioneer.
Leona will move to a duplex in St. Joseph, where she will have more room than ever in her life, including a card room.
“I hope some of the people will still come to play cards,” she said. “I won’t miss the work, but I will miss the people.”
Leona has longevity on her side. Her mother is still alive at 107. Leona plans on spending time with her, the kids and grandkids and some of the bar patrons who have become much more.
“We never had educations and lived all our lives up here on this ridge,” Leona said. “We never thought we were doing anything special, but people did seem to like coming here.”
That was because:
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
Gregg Hoffmann is a veteran journalist, author and publisher of Midwest Diamond Report and Old School Collectibles Web sites. Hoffmann, a retired senior lecturer in journalism at UWM, writes The State Sports Buzz and Beyond Milwaukee on a monthly basis for OMC.
