Our Historic Building
The Speakeasy is located on the west side of downtown Janesville in a building once known as the Bennison & Lane Baking Co. who was a producer of commercially baked products distributed to area grocery stores. The building dates back to 1899 and according to family notes, started out as Eureka Baking Co. Although the company focused on commercial business many local residents today recall the day old bakery and the warm and inviting smell of the fresh baked bread.
The Bennison & Lane Baking Co. was known for their advertising campaign “Gold Cup Bread is Better Bread” stating “busy housewives could save valuable time using their pre-sliced bread”. In the late 1940’s the Bennison & Lane Baking co. was sold to Mrs.Karl’s bread and served as one of their distribution site for a couple of years. The Bennison family opened a retail bakery in Evanston Illinois, which still operates today, but under different ownership. They have won numerous artisan baking awards.
Over the years the building became the home to many other businesses, Decker Manufacturing, Insurance and banking offices, and Mulrooney Moving and Storage. The building was vacant for many years and was close to being declared condemned.
In 2002 early discussions about rehabilitation began and soon after an extensive project of gutting the building down to its brick shell was underway.
Additional property to the west and to the north were purchased to accommodate the current parking lot. The building still looks old, but it is equipped with all new electrical, plumbing, ventilation, windows and doors. It is painted a lovely vibrant yellow as a reminder of its “Gold Cup” history. In June of 2004, The Speakeasy opened its doors to the public and to new development in the historic downtown area.
Today, The Speakeasy is an established downtown restaurant and the host of many family and business events. Over 20 couples have said “I do” and we can’t even count how many rings, gifts or cards have been exchanged over the dinner table here. But one thing is for sure, people love the speakeasy not only for its great atmosphere but also for its traditional american fare. We honor our wisconsin culture featuring deep fried cheese curds made in green county and fresh cut french fries. We are known for our brick oven pizzas using dough made fresh daily and Friday Fish fry where we use cod loins hand breaded and deep fried to order, served with traditional potato pancake and coleslaw of course. If you have out of town guests you will not want to miss out on these best wisconsin food favorites. But make sure to leave room for one of our homemade desserts. Our cheesecake is the lightest and creamiest you will find around here and our chocolate lava cake has always been a best seller. Hope to see you soon!
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- Our cozy nook can seat up to 15 people
