Bikes, brews and history: Schroeder Short Stop opens its doors
When Tim Saetre and his wife, Emma Sievers, moved to Cook County four years ago, they were chasing a dream that started with a few electric bikes and a camper. Today, that journey has led them to open the Schroeder Short Stop Bar, a new stop for both locals and travelers on Highway 61.
Saetre first came north from Minneapolis with a business partner who wanted to rent out a brand of eco-friendly electric bikes called Super 73s.
“This is our fourth year of renting bikes on the North Shore,” Saetre said. “Emma’s been mostly running our marketing and making everything look good all the time. I’m the bike guy. Now I’m the bar guy.”
Co-owners Emma Sievers and Tim Saetre with wood-burning stove
The couple lived in a camper behind Up Yonder in Grand Marais until they got the business off the ground. “It’s a rite of passage to live off grid or in a dry cabin or a camper up here,” Saetre said. “We ended up living in our camper for three summers. We paid our dues.”
Sievers said the community welcomed them from the start. “We’ve had a ton of support since the day we got here,” she said.
Still, they wanted to expand beyond bikes.
“We were like, how else can we utilize this space and offer more to people visiting or locally?” Saetre recalled. “The original idea was, let’s just be able to sell a can of Hamm’s to people after they ride bikes. Next thing you know, we’re gutting this whole building and frantically trying to get it put back together. The entire process from start to finish was almost two years.”
The building has a long local history. “It was a convenience store gas station for a long time,” Saetre said. “As far as I know, it started in the ’80s and ran for a while. Before that, it was an old auto shop.”
When they tore into the walls, they found reminders of its past. “The hole in the ground where the lift used to be, the old rails of the garage doors are still here,” Saetre said.
Sievers said the biggest surprise came when they uncovered a hidden wall of windows. “We had no idea that this entire wall behind us was there because there was a drop ceiling, there was insulation on the walls,” she said. “When we started pulling the walls off, we discovered all of these windows intact. A good friend of ours knew how to restore them. We certainly couldn’t have afforded to install windows like this. So it’s pretty cool to be able to restore it.”
Bowling lane bar
They also built the bar from salvaged bowling alley lanes, purchased from a demolition company in Duluth. “It’s expensive to buy character,” Saetre said. “When you can find old materials and repurpose them, it really adds to the space. People walk in and say, oh my gosh, look at this bar.”
A cast iron wood stove salvaged from behind a friend’s garage now warms the space. “It was perfect to put in here to add some heat in the shoulder seasons,” Saetre said.
The Schroeder Short Stop officially opened its doors in July. Today, the bar serves beer, wine, sodas, frozen pizzas and snacks. “Eventually we’ll expand, but at this point we’re just trying to pour beer as well as we can,” Saetre said.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Tuesdays, with the season running from Memorial Day through the 3rd weekend of October.
The clientele has been a mix of visitors and locals. “People rent bikes and come in for a beverage afterwards. Others stop in because they’ve driven by a hundred times and finally see something new has been added,” Saetre said. “A lot of locals have been coming in and telling their friends. It’s really helped me meet people down on the West End.”
Sievers described it as a happy hour spot. “We close at seven, so a lot of people come by here and then go to Bluefin for dinner. There’s Lamb’s Resort right behind us — we had a family of 30 or 40 come in one day. They’ve been coming to Lamb’s for 30 years. And they said, wow, there’s a bar we can walk to now.”
Saetre admits he was nervous before opening. “My mantra was, if you build it, they will come. Not only customers, but employees. If we build a cool space, people will want to hang out here, eat, drink, ride bikes — and work here, too.”
Winter projects include creating a logo and signage for the bar, and planning programming for next season. “Getting some music going and events, maybe pulling in some food trucks,” Saetre said.
For now, the couple is grateful. “It’s been going really well,” Sievers said. “People are super excited, giving us positive feedback. I think we’re just keeping it simple, and people really appreciate that.”
Saetre agreed. “Come meet us. Enjoy the space.”
Find the full interview audio and more photos below.
Chuck Olsen October 1, 2025
