Mickie's Dairy Bar, the Monroe Street diner that has fed generations of Badgers fans across the street from Camp Randall Stadium, has sat closed since July, and there is still no confirmed date for its reopening. The new ownership group taking over the nearly 80-year-old Madison institution includes former Badgers lineman and NFL Hall of Famer Joe Thomas and current Wisconsin linebacker Mason Posa, according to WMTV 15 News.
A Changing of the Guard After 35 Years
Payow and Janet Thongnuam retired this year after running Mickies Dairy Bar for 35 years, according to madison.com. Gotham Bagels owner Joe Gaglio, who is stepping in as manager of the diner for the new ownership group, said he would be running it on their behalf, the outlet reported. The exact date the Thongnuams bought the business is itself a small point of dispute among local outlets — madison.com reported they purchased it in May 1991, while the Cap Times put the handover in April of that year.
Reporting on the timing of this year's ownership change has also varied. One madison.com report from June said the changeover would happen July 1, with the Thongnuams' last day running the restaurant set for July 18. A separate report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the diner would pass to new ownership starting July 20. Whatever the exact date, the restaurant has been closed since July, and WMTV 15 News reports there is still no confirmed reopening date.
Big Shoes to Fill on Monroe Street
Longtime customer Kathy Revello described Mickie's as like going home, according to WMTV 15 News, and said the new owners have big shoes to fill. Beth Bowen, a fan who travels from Freeport, Illinois, said she hopes the new owners keep Mickie's Dairy Bar the same, per the station's report. Those sentiments echo the diner's reputation for game-day crowds: the Cap Times has described diners waiting in a line that snakes around the block on busy weekends, and the Journal Sentinel noted the restaurant is popular among students and Badgers sports fans on game days, often with long lines of people waiting to get in.
Before the ownership change, madison.com reported that the incoming owner planned to keep the restaurant's 25 full- and part-time employees, many of whom were students, and intended to make some improvements without allowing the properties to be redeveloped. One of the dishes those longtime regulars will be hoping survives is the Scrambler, which the Cap Times noted was one of the Thongnuams' earliest menu additions and became the restaurant's most famous dish.
The Cherry Coffee Cake Legacy
Mickie's also built a following around its cherry coffee cake, which the diner began making after Joe Wolter brought Door County cherries to the restaurant for nine years, according to WMTV 15 News. The cake reportedly sold out right away when Wolter first brought the cherries in. Those kinds of small, specific traditions are part of why fans hope the restaurant reopens by the end of 2026, though nothing in current reporting confirms when — or whether — that timeline will hold.
