Specialties
Awesome accommodations. Fantastic food. Welcome to Cable Nature Lodge. You're gonna love it here! Offering superior quality lodging and casual gourmet dining for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers in a smoke-free, adult-oriented environment. Our rooms feature plush beds, private baths, wireless Internet, satellite TV, fridge, microwave, gourmet coffeemaker. And just downstairs from your room you'll find TripAdvisor's #1 Rated Area Restaurant, serving the most flavorful and creative cuisine in the Wisconsin Northwoods. Rustic elegance and peaceful seclusion in the heart of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Plus we're Travel Green Wisconsin certified.
History
Established in 2005.
The building now housing Cable Nature Lodge and Rookery Pub Fine Dining was constructed in 1978 by Doc Kliszcz, a popular local dentist who had long dreamed of opening a Polish restaurant. The formal name of the new establishment was Kliszcz's Karczma (Polish for "rustic country inn") but soon became popularly known as The Polish Palace.
Current owner of the property, Bill Brakken, worked for Doc as a bartender the first year the original restaurant opened. He attended college during the week and came up to work on weekends, sleeping in the unfinished basement at night.
Sadly, Doc died a few years later and the building went through several changes in ownership and use over the years. Bill hadn't been inside the building in more than 25 years when he saw it listed for sale, took a look on a nostalgic whim, and purchased it several weeks later. Cable Nature Lodge opened for business in 2005 with 4 initial guest rooms, later expanding to 7. Rookery Pub Fine Dining opened in 2008.
Meet the Business Owner: Bill B.
Bill spent many summers and weekends during his childhood exploring the woods and waters of the Cable area. His great, great, great grandparents were among Cable's original settlers, and his grandparents spent summers on Lake Namakagon for some 40 years. Teachers in the Chicago area during the school year, they spent summers in Cable where his grandfather was a renowned fishing guide.
During his high school years Bill's family enjoyed frequent visits to the family cabin on Jackson Lake. His first real job was running the marina just down the road at Lakewoods Resort for two summers during high school and two more during college.
After graduating from UW-Madison in Political Science and Environmental Studies, Bill worked in the state legislature and was founding executive director of the Wisconsin Conservation Corps. He lived in several other states before returning to Wisconsin to open Cable Nature Lodge & Rookery Pub Fine Dining.