The G.O.A.T.

Gunilla Wilson with Oscar – the original goat on the roof. Gunilla worked at Al Johnson’s for over 40 years. Submitted.

Al Johnson’s rings in 75 years

Sports fans love to debate which athlete is the G.O.A.T. – the “greatest of all time” – in their respective sport, team or position, and use of the acronym has grown beyond sports to identify the best of the best in any context you can think of. 

When Door County visitors want to see the G.O.A.T – and the goats – they go to Al Johnson’s to do it. 

Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and Butik, the iconic Sister Bay business, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The business was founded in 1949 by its namesake, Axel Albert Otto Johnson – or, to the many who knew him, simply “Al.” 

Before achieving fame in Sister Bay, Al grew up on Chicago’s south side. He was the son of first-generation Swedish immigrants who sent him to Door County to spend his summers. At age 6, he was sent to Sweden to live for two years with his grandparents, who gave him a healthy dose of his Scandinavian heritage.

Al was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division during World War II. After the war, Al took a break from his criminal-justice studies at Marquette University in Milwaukee with “restaurant on the brain,” having caught the bug working for Johnny Vieth at Johnny’s Cottage Restaurant in Sister Bay. 

Al once said that his goal in opening a restaurant was to get people to talk about something other than Ephraim, and to honor his Scandinavian heritage. But his contribution to the community went far beyond that initial goal. Through the years, he would serve as a village board member, a school board member, a police commissioner and a passionate supporter of Gibraltar sports.

During the 1950s, Al’s restaurant built a reputation for providing a satisfying and affordable meal, with Al handling everything from cooking to serving to cleaning. The business took a major step forward in 1960, when Al married Ingert Forsberg. At age 17, Ingert came by herself to Chicago from the village of Osterbymoin in Sweden. Her roommate introduced her to Door County, where Ingert answered a help-wanted ad from Gordon Lodge. Al met Ingert at the Sister Bay Bowl, just a few steps up the hill from his restaurant. It is often said that Ingert was responsible for bringing “class” to the restaurant.

“Well, Ingert changed my life,” Al once told writer Norb Blei in an interview. “The wildness stopped. She was absolutely instrumental in where we got with the restaurant.”

There are many stories of Al that people never tire of. One essential tale involves Oscar, the now-famous goat. Winky Larson, Al’s friend since childhood, gifted him with an animal – a duck, a monkey, a goose, a pig – on his birthday every year. They were all returned until the year Oscar appeared and was installed on the restaurant roof, the first of the pampered herd that appears there now. 

In recent years, the business has enhanced its core restaurant operation with several significant additions. Those additions include Stabbur, the expansive beer garden featuring prime goat-viewing space, games for kids and live music; the Kök (pronounced “shook”), an outdoor kitchen at Stabbur; and Skål, a large retail building selling Scandinavian-influenced gifts, home goods and Swedish food items. 

Long-time employee Kit Butz has witnessed these additions first-hand. Butz started at Al’s as a 19-year-old in the early 1990s washing dishes and bussing tables. After a period of living near Chicago and establishing professional careers, Butz and his wife moved back to Sister Bay, where Butz rejoined Al Johnson’s. 

“Family was a big part of it,” he said. “If we’d stayed in Chicago, we probably would have had just one child, but moving here, we’ve had three. I tell my kids if they get in trouble, or something happens, just go into Al’s and they’ll call me and take care of them.” 

Although Butz has a senior management-level role at the restaurant, he doesn’t have a job title. 

“At Al’s – being a family-run place – we don’t use titles,” he said. “We just do what needs to get done. Everyone pitches in.”

Butz has been active in planning the 75th anniversary party to be held at Stabbur on June 22. The date falls on Ingert Johnson’s birthday and Midsummer, an important Swedish holiday. Entertainment will include Big Mouth and The Power Tool Horns, Stoughton Norwegian Dancers and 7000 Apart, a Swedish-American duo. 

Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik is located at 10698 N. Bayshore Dr. in Sister Bay.