Not New. Not Improved. Since 1925, Camp Wandawega.
That’s just one piece of fodder alongside the “Manifesto of Low Expectations” that the southeastern Wisconsin property proclaims before anyone signs on the dotted line to stay. A place that for some may look like a movie set, a still life of another time, is indeed a real place, with an intentional lack of luxury. At least the sort of luxury you might expect when slipping away for a few days. You won’t find it in the form of fuzzy slippers, thread-counts, or even air conditioning, but you will find it in the form of community, nature, and a much slower pace. 2025 marks Camp Wandawega’s 100th anniversary and raises a glass with its own celebratory bourbon.
“Camp Counselors” David Hernandez and Tereasa Surratt-both longtime ad creatives– have been stewards of this property for over twenty years now. They are in the magic business, so to speak, carving out time and space for groups of people to gather or offer nooks for creative endeavors to take shape. For the camp’s 100th anniversary, they’ve bottled the Camp Wandawega experience in more ways than one.
100 Years of Summers bourbon launched this summer to honor the camp’s anniversary and the woman who’s storied past made way for all Wandawega has become. On the one hand, it is 25 acres of rugged midwestern woodlands, recognized on the National Register of Historic Places; on the other hand, it is a region rife with stories about speakeasies, brothels, and the up-to-no-good-ness Madame Anne Peck or “Orphan Annie” left in her wake. Considered a “disgrace to the state of Wisconsin,” Madame Peck used to hide liquor in a hollowed out piano in what was once the Wandawega Hotel during prohibition.
Saints & Sinners
Today, the camp is no longer disgraced, having recently regained its liquor license after a century; hence, letting Wandawega kick up her heels and raise some hell once again. The 100 Years of Summer bourbon winks at the past by packaging the hooch in the same half-pint bottle ol’ Annie used to hide. And that piano? The site of her hidden libations? That too is back in a lodge on the premises.
Less racy but all fun and games, the camp has also launched a soda line given as a four-pack to campers as a welcome upon arrival, and sold exclusively at the camp’s canteen: Rootbeer, Ginger Ale, Sarsparilla, and Birchbeer. Each bottle tells a tale of the “saints and sinners” from the camp’s notorious past.
The U.S. has seen a serious uptick in repurposed camps, motels, and resorts in the last decade, many reaping the benefits of their “barely-on-the-grid” marketing campaigns. And yet, Camp Wandawega goes steps beyond, ensuring that guests understand what they offer is not just a cute “back-to-nature” ruse. That you really do have to watch for raccoons; you really might wake up to ladybugs on your pillow; Hernandez and Surratt will really be seen lugging tools; and that there really is no gl in camping there. As Surratt, says, guests like it that way and keep coming back.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the 2025 market size in the U.S. for recreation and vacation camping is at $24.26 Billion and expected to grow to $30.96 Billion by 2030.
Amidst the nooks and crannies of the 25 acre space, campers glimpse pieces of history everywhere; much of which has been restored to its former glory. It may be in the form of a beam from an old cabin all but demolished, in a vintage car that totes gear along a path, or further still, in a century’s old, treasured collection of National Geographics. Whatever it is, Surratt and Hernandez have spent decades cherishing and curating relics of the area’s history creating a museum experience of sorts to add to the collection of new memories campers make at Wandawega.
Santé, Cin cin, Salute, Prost!
Some of those items, including the bourbon, are now on display and sold at the camp’s new brick and mortar in Chicago. Doors to the Wandawega Bureau of Tourism on W. Grand Avenue opened in July in a building dating back from 1888. The camp’s second home pays tribute to tourism bureaus of the region’s past, places that were once the heart of a town, information stations, and gathering spaces. The camp’s bureau will be no different with plans to be part retail, part studio, or part showroom, with all parts for everyone.
When it comes to all that magic, bottled in one place, Surratt admits, there was no strategy. “I think this is what’s interesting about what we’ve done,” she said. “This just happened organically over the course of decades; that we are sort of the democratization of all of it. It’s like the common denominator is everyone comes together in the same spot around that bonfire at night, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re the one sleeping in the tent or you’re up in the hill house or you’re in one of the more mediocre cabins we have.”
September will bring yet another celebration around the world of Camp Wandawega and surely one where the 100 Years of Summer bourbon will be used well beyond a toast amongst friends. A glaze or sauce, or sweet infusion? Time will tell. Since 2019 Chicago chefs have congregated for an annual Campfire Jamboree. Not open to the public, the jamboree is a few days for chefs to be cooks and comrads; to enjoy a magical space in the wood, let the stresses of their everyday fall away, and celebrate creativity and friendship. Chef John Manion of El Che and Brasero, will host the fourth annual Campfire Jamboree, September 8-10.
This year’s chefs also include: Bailey Sullivan (Monteverde); Dan Jacobs (Milwaukee’s DanDan); Chris Jung (Maxwells Trading); Mindy Segal (Mindy’s Bakery); Ben Lustbader and Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader (Loaf Lounge); Adam Meyer (Brasero and El Che)
First conceived by Stock in 2019 as a Thank You party for their partners in the hospitality community, the event has evolved into a summer camp-style retreat for Chicago’s top chefs, bartenders, and restaurateurs. The private gathering features chef-made meals, Camp Wandawega’s rustic and charming accommodations, and plenty of activities. Past chef participants have included Chefs Zach Engel (Galit), Diana Dávila (Mi Tocaya Antojeria), Andrew Brochu (Brochu’s Restaurant), Tim Flores & Genie Kwon (Kasama), Oliver Poilevey (Obelix and Le Bouchon), Andrew Lim (Perilla), and many more.