Wedges Creek Hideaway offers a fun escape
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However, he took time to teach himself, experimenting for a few years with different recipes and techniques and consulting with several different chefs to collect their ideas on the matter. After some time perfecting the pizza product, conversation turned to perhaps trying to open it to the public.
“It was kind of a slippery slope into ‘hey, we have a brick oven, what if we just open it a few Saturdays a month?’” Volovsek said of the business proposal. “And my wife was like, ‘are you nuts? We live two hours away and we didn’t going to school for this!’ She was right, but the fire was literally already started with pizza experiments that were popular, so with a little convincing in 2017, a soft opening was tried with a new family business and it went pretty well.”
The campground coupled with the delicious pizza seemed to be an excellent combination, offering a unique outdoor dining experience that was well received. As word began to spread, the business continued to evolve. New varieties of pizza were brought to the table and bands were found to play live music during the events. What once started out as small affairs, where 20 to 30 pizzas were made over the course of an evening, has turned into Fridays where they might see over 250 guests, sometimes with bands that have crossed state borders to perform.
One of the biggest challenges that Volovsek faced during this journey, other than the initial obstacle of the logistics and paperwork necessary to get the restaurant up and running in the first place, was adapting to this growth. A second oven was eventually added to keep up with demand and after the Volovsek family had opened with only themselves as the staff, it very quickly became an impossible task to manage alone. Finding employees for seasonal work can be difficult and comes with its own sets of challenges but is also something that Volovsek finds that building teams very rewarding. Summer internships for local students where they get to see a bit of how the business is run and take on responsibilities in the kitchen is a good fit.
“You’re giving kids an opportunity,” Volovsek said. “You are instilling a work ethic within them and elevating them to take on new challenges. And that’s one thing we do well out here, I think, is mentoring and elevating their confidence so they can go on to take their next steps in life. We’ve had a lot of past employees come back and they love checking in and seeing how things are going and it’s always great to see them doing well.”
While the pizza nights certainly remain Wedges Creek’s biggest draw, there are a variety of other activities that are offered. Camping, either with one’s own camper or tents or via one of the cabins on site, is still available. A converted barn makes both an excellent space for indoor pizza nights when the weather is less than ideal, as well as being set up as a wedding venue. A nine-hole disc golf course was recently added and there are plans to open the walking trails and fat-tire bike trails shortly. A reception hall is currently being remodeled and Volovsek hopes that it could be utilized as a space for other businesses or event planners to use for their own creative endeavors. In the winter, they hosted sleigh rides with pizza served afterwards, an event they hope to continue into the future.
“I want to challenge people to get off the beaten path, to try something different,” he said. “[With these events] I try to get people to not just stay home but to explore what Wisconsin has to offer, because there’s a lot of different things to do outdoors.”
All of these events and projects are centered around Volovsek’s main priority; to provide a place where families can feel safe while relaxing and enjoying nature. It is an atmosphere that he has attempted to cultivate in each of his offerings and giving families such opportunities is what he finds most fulfilling.
“For us, the main thing is seeing kids playing safely while giving parents an opportunity to talk and unwind at the same time,” he said. “That means a lot to us, to see that happening, because life is short and you have to take time to create these moments. We want to be able to help create those memories here.”
