Ethels at 250, Bayfield Wisconsin

uring the summer of 1968 Sally Amundson and Bill Heytensmet at the street dance at the Iron River Blueberry Festival. We dated…ate lots of pizza together…fell in love… got married (as everyone did in those days). We lived in Superior - worked and raised three wonderful children - and generally lived a responsible life. Ethels at 250

Everything changed in 2002 when we sold our businesses and our house and hit the road (literally) for three years. We drove 75,000 miles - visited all 50 states - and explored our family roots in Belgium and Scandinavia. We went off the beaten path to seek out charming villages and scenic byways, Presidential libraries and rural distilleries, National Parks and great pizza restaurants. One of our last road trips was the drive around Lake Superior. When the time came to get back to work, we considered moving far away and starting over. But nothing felt quite right until we fell in love with a small town on Lake Superior just 80 miles from home - BAYFIELD. So - what to do there?? In February, 2005, we were vacationing on the island of St. Martin. Near Orient Beach we found a wonderful pizza restaurant - run by men from France, Morocco, and Algeria - serving pizza to mostly American visitors! It was there we realized that our favorite food would be the focus of our new business and new life in Bayfield. Upon returning home, we purchased the historic Stark Store and spent the next year renovating, adding on, and turning the building into a great place for people to share a meal with family and friends. We opened our restaurant on May 24, 2006, and we've been welcoming guests ever since! Whether you visit in the springtime - mid summer - or during the beautiful fall season - we invite you to join us at Ethel's at 250.

We followed our dreams and are now living and working in Bayfield. We encourage all of you to go where your dreams lead you… think outside the box…take your own journey. You'll be glad you did! And as the sign in our restaurant so aptly reminds us:

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

thel Olson was Sally's mom. She was born October 17, 1913, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of Swedish immigrants. We named the restaurant for her because she was such a gracious hostess - and she loved to go out to eat! Ethel was never happier than when she could share a meal with family and friends. Ethel

Ethel passed away on March 10, 2007, at the tender age of 93, but her spirit lives on here at Ethel's at 250. This summer her three children and nine grandchildren are travelling to Bayfield from all over the country with their families for a reunion in her honor, July 30 - August 1. The newest member of the family is Ethel's great grand
daughter, Ethel Diane Ordez, born May 1, 2010!

Roger Heytens was Bill's dad, a wonderful man who spent much of his life working with wood. He began building cabinets in his basement, and later built a number of garages and homes. He eventually invested in a small lumberyard, which grew into a thriving, successful business. Rogers Room

In retirement he returned to his woodworking hobby, building toy boxes with Bill for our grandchildren Grant and Olivia, and creating the beautiful seaman's chest in Roger's Room. He passed away on July 3, 2009, at the age of 81, a few weeks after enjoying his own pepperoni pizza here at Ethel's at 250. He was a kind and generous man and we miss him very much. Now his name lives on with the birth of our new little grandson, Caleb Roger Heytens, who was born March 26, 2010 - Grant's little brother!