The house on Mink River Road has a long history, and residents of Northern Door know the structure well. In the beginning, it was a residence for good neighbors, then lodging for tourists and now a place for fine dining. "My uncle owned a small house, then my father, Gilbert Wickman, built a large wing onto it and opened the Ellison Bay Lodge in 1921," recalls Genevieve Follingstad. "I was born in that house. I can remember my mother, Olga, serving three meals a day to our family as well as to the tourists.

There weren’t many restaurants back then. In the 1920s, transportation was different, so most people often stayed two to three weeks at a time and we got to know them well because they’d come back year after year. The lodge was open from Memorial Day until Labor Day, and Mother taught school the rest of the time." Gen Wickman lived with her family at the lodge until she married Donald Follingstad in 1950. Although the couple moved to Minnesota and then to Atlanta, Gen returned home every summer to help at the lodge until her parents retired and sold the hotel in the late 1960s.

The new owner named it Griffin Inn, a name that remained until Chef Tom Ashwell Smith bought it in 1999. Although certain renovations were made so the house could become a working restaurant, Chef Tom has kept the original architectural character like the field stone fire place, wrap around porch, and gazebo. Now when Gen Follingstad visits T. Ashwell’s, she easily recognizes the house she grew up in. "T. Ashwell’s dining room used to be our living room, and the piano bar was our original dining room," she says. A new kitchen wing was constructed and handicap-accessible bathrooms added. "The upstairs is exactly the same," Gen says, "with the bathrooms at the end of the hall, just as I remember them!" Four small motel units remain behind the house, where some of T. Ashwell’s staff live.

The Ellison Bay Lodge’s shuffleboard court has been replaced by a gazebo, and the circular drive and parking lot used to be an expansive lawn. The Shuffle board court, reminiscent of days gone by is still used for Plantation Picnics on the Green. Pause in the entryway at T. Ashwell’s, and you’ll see photos taken when Ellison Bay Lodge was first constructed. There are dozens of restaurants in Door County now, but people come back to the house on Mink River Road. Transportation has changed, yet visitors still return year after year. The Ellison Bay Lodge, Griffin Inn and T. Ashwell's--a legacy of great charm, a rich history and an outstanding reputation.