Aitkin's New Owners Were Already Regulars

For years, Charlie and JoNelle Heins spent their weekends near Kimberly at a home that once belonged to his grandparents. On those weekends they were regulars at the Lakeview Inn on Dam Lake, the bar and restaurant Denny Solsvig ran for years. They moved up from the Buffalo/Montrose area in February. By June they owned it, and the sign now says Lakeview Bar & Grill.

That story keeps repeating around Aitkin this year. Four local rooms changed hands in 2026, and in at least three of them the buyer was already in the building as a customer, a supplier or a relative. Aitkin County reported a net gain of six businesses in 2026, according to the Aitkin Independent Age. But much of what feels new on the local dining calendar is familiar rooms with new names on the paperwork.

Who bought what, and how close they already were

Owners who already knew a place from the customer side tend to change it slowly. Every one of these owners described changes as additions on top of what was already there.

Lakeview kept the Sunday chicken

JoNelle Heins told the Aitkin Independent Age that "the majority of the menu will stay the same," and that includes the three-piece broasted chicken meal on Sundays. So far the changes are physical and small. New concrete at the entry door makes it easier to get in with a wheelchair or walker. New bar stools have arrived, and new signs were on the way as of the paper's October 5 update. Charlie is there every day except Wednesday and cooks two days a week.

The weekly schedule the paper reported:

• Monday: free-to-play Texas hold 'em
• Thursday: bingo
• Saturday: meat raffles
• Sunday: broasted chicken
• Coming this winter: dart leagues, with no start date announced

As of that October 5 report, the hours were 3 p.m. to close on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, noon to close on Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. No Wednesday hours were listed. The phone number is 218-549-3580.

That schedule matters for one date in particular. The Heinses said veterans eat free at Lakeview on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. "Veterans are important to us," JoNelle told the paper. Veterans Day this year, November 11, falls on a Wednesday, the one day of the week no hours were listed. If you or someone in your family plans to go, call ahead and ask how they're handling it.

"We are looking forward to trying new things, but the process is slow," JoNelle said.

In McGregor, the supplier bought the restaurant

The Fireside Inn sale shows the same pattern from the supply side. Ken Sizemore and Angie Johnson own Angie's Acres and Palisade City Meats, and their beef had already been showing up on the Fireside menu from time to time. "We've had our beef products in the restaurant and the opportunity presented itself at the right time for us, so we bought it," Sizemore told the Aitkin Independent Age.

The former owners, Ty Twaddle and Cori Holland, are no longer the owners but still run and manage the business day to day. If you've been eating there for years, you'll mostly see the same faces. The changes Sizemore described include more Angie's Acres beef on the menu, lobster tail back on it, barbecue platters in the works, and talk of Saturday and Sunday breakfast. He also floated the idea of a display case where diners pick out their own steak.

The biggest plan is The Cattlewoman's Cut, a meat counter going into the old liquor store space. "We're turning the old bottle shop into an extension of the farm, a meat store," Sizemore said. When the article ran, the business was working through its USDA inspection paperwork, so check with the Fireside at 218-768-3818 about whether the counter is open before making a trip for it.

Down the road, Last Chance Pub N' Grub stayed in the family. Elk River resident Cindy Kerrick bought it from her brother and sister-in-law on June 1. She moved the office, changed the logo, and added spinach dip, chicken lettuce wraps and more burgers and sandwiches. The games and activities stayed. Her longer-term ideas include a back patio and a front deck. "The first 30 days have been wonderful and the community has been so helpful and supportive," she told the Aitkin Independent Age.

Two Rivers keeps the weddings and adds its own calendar

The former 40 Club on Second Street Northwest follows the same approach on a bigger scale. Carolyn and Erik Huff took over on April 30, renamed it Two Rivers Event Center, and kept the weddings, meetings, birthdays and graduation parties the venue already hosted. Their daughter, Erika Turner, was set to help oversee wedding operations. The room still has its full-size bar, bartender service and built-in dance floor.

The Huffs are adding events of their own on top of the rentals. They plan concerts, expos, markets, themed family events and entertainment aimed at seniors. "We want to bring our own events there and expand," Carolyn told the Aitkin Independent Age.

The venue has already hosted one community event under the new name. The Aitkin Area Chamber of Commerce held Taste of Aitkin there on October 1, from 5 to 7 p.m., according to the Chamber's events calendar. The Chamber's calendar is also the place to watch for whatever the Huffs schedule next.

The one place starting from scratch

Chuckles' Diner, at 120 Minnesota Ave. N. downtown, is the exception. Chuck and Cale Gillingham opened it on July 17 as a new restaurant, not a renamed one. The Aitkin Independent Age ran the story under the headline "Where Southern hospitality meets Minnesota nice." The opening menu had cowboy burgers, club sandwiches, wings, milkshakes and dirty sodas.

"We'll eventually have a lot more on there. We're just starting out right now," Chuck told the paper. The diner's own site now calls it the "Home of the Sloppy Seconds Sandwiches." Its online ordering page was taking scheduled orders only and doesn't post dine-in hours, so call 218-429-0074 before you go.

Of the five businesses in this post, Chuckles' is the only one where the owners had no built-in regulars from a previous version of the place. The other four had customers before the sale closed.

November on the local calendar

Here's what the next few weeks look like, based on what these owners have said so far:

1. Thursdays and Saturdays at Lakeview: bingo and meat raffles, with dart leagues to come once the owners set a date.
2. Wednesday, November 11: Veterans Day, when Lakeview's owners say veterans eat free. Call ahead because of the Wednesday hours question above.
3. Weekends at Last Chance: Kerrick has said they try to put something on every weekend, so check before you head over.
4. Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26: listed on the City of Aitkin calendar.
5. The day after Thanksgiving: traditionally the Aitkin Fish House Parade. The 2024 parade ran from 1 to 3 p.m. that Friday, with a morning 5K, a craft market at The Ripple Center, a downtown Sip 'N Stroll and vintage snowmobiles. The Chamber posts each year's details at aitkin.com.

None of the new owners has announced a fall menu or a holiday event yet. The Heinses were still waiting on new signs as of early October, and Kerrick's deck and patio are longer-term ideas. For now, most of the changes are things a returning customer would notice up close, like a new stool, a new logo or a new item on the menu.

At Mike Kennedy Group, we follow Aitkin's restaurants and resorts closely because helping owners pass a room like these to the next person is a big part of our work. If you own a bar, supper club or resort in lake country and have started thinking about who might run it next, we're happy to talk it through whenever you're ready.