Saturday Morning Run Club Gains Momentum

Running does not often go hand-in hand with drinking beer, but the combination of the two has been a surprising hit for one downtown Eagle River business.

A new run club that meets Saturday mornings at Andy's Pontoon Saloon is recruiting hundreds of people to embark on a 2-mile run through the streets of downtown each week.

The gatherings are the brainchild of Andy Lichtfuss, owner of Andy's Pontoon Saloon on Wall Street, which has become a very popular gathering spot for locals and visitors. Lichtfuss said he was "absolutely" surprised by the turnout he's been seeing of the run club, which started just over four weeks ago.

He started promoting the club on social media, touting free t-shirts to those who turned out, and was met with an unexpected response. "I would have been happy to have 15 people turn out for the first one," he said. "But we had 103, then 90, then 220 on the fifth of July." July 12's outing was affected by the rain that developed just ahead of the run, but still drew a crowd of people who turned out to get a t-shirt and join the camaraderie.

Runners, joggers and walkers gather at the beer garden between 10 and 10:30 a.m. to head out for a quick gallivant around Eagle River that heads down Wall Street, back by Riverstone Brewing Company, then loops around by Trig's before heading back to the pontoon saloon headquarters.

Lichtfuss is seeing a number of repeat runners, but many new faces each week as well.

"I'd say about 25% show up with their (run club) shirt on, ready to go, then 75% are new and asking for t-shirts," he said. What started with an order of 250 of these free shirts has now expanded greatly. Lichtfuss placed a second order of 300 shirts, and with stock running low he now has another 600 on order to hopefully get him through the rest of the summer.

"It started as just running, but it got so popular that we now have a jogging club and a walking club," he said. Those who don't want to commit to a full 2-mile run can instead do a 2-mile jog or 1-mile walk.

Beer, Yoga and Running

As a lover of craft beer as well as being physically active, the idea to marry the two passions into the run club seemed like a no-brainer for Lichtfuss. And apparently others feel the same, with the pontoon saloon's Monday night yoga gatherings in the beer garden also picking up steam.

"I love an excuse to get up and get outside. When I moved here two years ago it was difficult to find things to do that were active and not drinking-related," he said. "This is drinking-adjacent because obviously we are at a beer garden, but I don't require people to buy a beer in order to take part in yoga or run club."

Lichtfuss is an Oshkosh native but has been coming to the Northwoods since he was a kid to fish. When he was 16, his family bought a place on the Eagle River Chain of Lakes, and he moved here full-time two years ago.

Pre-, during and post-Covid he spent time in places around the United States, traveling from the Midwest to Arizona to Florida and all kinds of places in between, and said he was always looking for things to do in those towns where they can get "pretty creative."

Picking up ideas from the places he's been, Licthfuss has incorporated some of them into Andy's Pontoon Saloon. For instance, the idea for the run club he saw at a bank in Nashville, Tenn.

Fantastic Staff and Customers

What he's doing is working. After 14 months in business, Lichtfuss said he couldn't be happier with how it's all turning out.

"We are packed — really busy all the time," he said. "It's a lot more fun; a lot more work than I thought it would be. But it's A LOT more fun than I thought it was gonna be."

Having a fantastic staff helps ease some of the workload. "My staff are rockstars," he said, adding that his entire staff from last summer returned for the 2025 season. "We actually turned people away who wanted to work here because my whole staff came back."

He attributes the loyal staff to the saloon's fun environment, as well as its "really great" customers. "I think it helps that we are not a late-night bar. We close at 11, so we are not dealing with people who have been overserved and stuff like that."

And his customer base is growing, as more strangers become friends at the saloon. "We have a lot of repeat customers. Local repeats that become regulars, then a lot of repeats now that we've been open for a year, who were here this week last year, and came back this week this year to hang out."

Andy's Pontoon Saloon serves beer, wine and seltzers that are all made in the state. He currently has 24 Wisconsin beers on tap, as well as selections in bottles and cans. He also has a beer garden menu of homemade pizzas, which people really seem to like, and giant pretzels.

Live music is offered every Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 3 p.m., along with the Monday night yoga in the beer garden and Saturday run club. The bar is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the kitchen is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday nights the establishment also hosts a food truck serving up Friday nigh fish fry.

Andy's Pontoon Saloon is located at 220 E Wall St.