Header: Anthony Tahlier
The Village Supper Club, one of Wisconsin’s longest-running supper clubs, got a new look in 2024 with the help of DMAC Architecture & Interiors | Chicago, with Dwayne MacEwen as lead designer. The project, which has received extensive international attention, is the winner in the “Architectural Design Restaurant – Casual” category at the LIV Hospitality Design Awards.
A nostalgic vision
The design work focused on keeping the club’s 55-year history alive while still celebrating its future. The Village is now modern and up to date in all amenities, offering “a refreshed, timeless experience that feels both familiar and new“, in the words of the designers. Guests will be able to continue visiting their favourite lakeside venue to meet for cocktails and a meal, and later enjoy some entertainment surrounded by a renewed nostalgic décor.
Architecture as part of the interior
Everyone is welcome in the old-school supper club, and its design caters to everyone: local materials were used as a reference to the club’s residential surroundings. At the entry, an asymmetrical hearth inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin invites guests to come in and explore. Once further inside, visitors arrive at the dining space, arranged to face the lake. Here, the amphitheatre-style layout and a 26-foot-tall glass wall allow views of the surrounding landscape to be admired from anywhere in the room.
Rustic and elegant elements
The interior was designed with elements that reference the region’s “pole barns”, such as exposed beams, tufted green upholstery, weathered fieldstone, and woodland-inspired wallcoverings. In an effort to keep the interior as true to the club’s heritage as possible, the designers chose to keep some upcycled elements from the original building, adding “a layer of emotional connection to the space.”
