Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Haskins welcomes back Mail Pouch Saloon with savory grilled food

For a town with little alcohol experience, the tiny Wood County Village of Haskins (pop. 1,188) is making up for lost time with the opening of the new and reborn Mail Pouch Saloon Bar & Grill.

While Prohibition ended in 1933, Haskins famously remained dry for decades. It would take exactly 44 years until voters finally allowed the first incarnation of the Mail Pouch Saloon— originally opened in 1977, to pour alcohol. Though that first saloon closed in the late ‘80s and the building came to house other ventures, Perrysburg resident Jamie Wietrzykowski knew new was the time to restore the glory.

“A lot of the locals that were here still remember it,” said Wietrzykowski, who hails from North Toledo and graduated from Woodward High School in 1990. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Actually, it is broken– please fix it

There is unintended biting wit in Wietrzykowski choice of expression. He wanted to revive the Mail Pouch concept, which worked fine, but the building itself was another story. It sat in disrepair after its most recent stint as Herbie’s Place. So, Wietrzykowski used his skills as a Toledo area investor, realtor and owner of Perrysburg roofing business Four Guys and a Roof, to convert the building into what he envisioned Mail Pouch should be: a saloon-themed, wild west restaurant.

“We totally gutted it and turned it into an old-time saloon,” Wietrzykowski said, who even moved his Four Guys office directly above the restaurant.


There’s plenty of places to park your horse outside the uniquely pallet-covered siding of the new Mail Pouch Saloon in Haskins.

 

Making rusty-old new again

The irony is unmistakable. Wietrzykowski repurposed old pallets, barn siding and window sashes to turn the old building, well, old again. But the rustic, vintage western theme has its share of new world pizzazz. Patrons will enjoy USB phone chargers, 30 televisions, bar top LED lights, antique leathery faux painting, custom saloon doors, and a horseshoe-shaped bar with generous bar stool seating.

You can even find spittoons, so you know, y’all don’t have to spit on the floor.

“The detail that we spent on our remodel to be a saloon and yet be modern, there’s nothing out there like it,” Wietrzykowski said.

The watering hole

Wietrzykowski is new to the industry, so after a chance meeting in January with Larry Bertok of Northwood, a corporate trained restaurant general manager, the pair was convinced to get the saloon up and running. It opened Feb. 3.

Mail Pouch offers some Texas-sized portions ranging from hot dogs to steaks, with three main signature items: two-meat blend Angus steak burgers, hand-cut chicken chunks and steaks.

“Our portions are huge and pricing is very fair,” Wietrzykowski said. “Our food is hand cut, trimmed and weighed here. People are really surprised.”

Karaoke is a weekly event, with live music and bike nights in the works. Mail Pouch Saloon is open every day at 11am until roughly 10 or 11pm. Sunday-Thursday, and later on the weekends.

Mail Pouch Saloon, 102 W. Main St., Haskins. 419-806-7616. mailpouchsaloon.com

For a town with little alcohol experience, the tiny Wood County Village of Haskins (pop. 1,188) is making up for lost time with the opening of the new and reborn Mail Pouch Saloon Bar & Grill.

While Prohibition ended in 1933, Haskins famously remained dry for decades. It would take exactly 44 years until voters finally allowed the first incarnation of the Mail Pouch Saloon— originally opened in 1977, to pour alcohol. Though that first saloon closed in the late ‘80s and the building came to house other ventures, Perrysburg resident Jamie Wietrzykowski knew new was the time to restore the glory.

“A lot of the locals that were here still remember it,” said Wietrzykowski, who hails from North Toledo and graduated from Woodward High School in 1990. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Actually, it is broken– please fix it

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There is unintended biting wit in Wietrzykowski choice of expression. He wanted to revive the Mail Pouch concept, which worked fine, but the building itself was another story. It sat in disrepair after its most recent stint as Herbie’s Place. So, Wietrzykowski used his skills as a Toledo area investor, realtor and owner of Perrysburg roofing business Four Guys and a Roof, to convert the building into what he envisioned Mail Pouch should be: a saloon-themed, wild west restaurant.

“We totally gutted it and turned it into an old-time saloon,” Wietrzykowski said, who even moved his Four Guys office directly above the restaurant.


There’s plenty of places to park your horse outside the uniquely pallet-covered siding of the new Mail Pouch Saloon in Haskins.

 

Making rusty-old new again

The irony is unmistakable. Wietrzykowski repurposed old pallets, barn siding and window sashes to turn the old building, well, old again. But the rustic, vintage western theme has its share of new world pizzazz. Patrons will enjoy USB phone chargers, 30 televisions, bar top LED lights, antique leathery faux painting, custom saloon doors, and a horseshoe-shaped bar with generous bar stool seating.

You can even find spittoons, so you know, y’all don’t have to spit on the floor.

“The detail that we spent on our remodel to be a saloon and yet be modern, there’s nothing out there like it,” Wietrzykowski said.

The watering hole

Wietrzykowski is new to the industry, so after a chance meeting in January with Larry Bertok of Northwood, a corporate trained restaurant general manager, the pair was convinced to get the saloon up and running. It opened Feb. 3.

Mail Pouch offers some Texas-sized portions ranging from hot dogs to steaks, with three main signature items: two-meat blend Angus steak burgers, hand-cut chicken chunks and steaks.

“Our portions are huge and pricing is very fair,” Wietrzykowski said. “Our food is hand cut, trimmed and weighed here. People are really surprised.”

Karaoke is a weekly event, with live music and bike nights in the works. Mail Pouch Saloon is open every day at 11am until roughly 10 or 11pm. Sunday-Thursday, and later on the weekends.

Mail Pouch Saloon, 102 W. Main St., Haskins. 419-806-7616. mailpouchsaloon.com

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