The Famous Fox and Hounds
Early American Restaurant
A Wisconsin dining tradition since 1933

Thank you for your interest in our restaurant. The Fox and Hounds serves continental fare with German highlights in the scenic rolling hills of the Kettle Moraine.

The first clerk of Washington County built a one room log cabin in 1845, which nestled undisturbed in the beautifully wooded rolling hills of the Kettle Moraine. Ray and Alta Wolf acquired the cabin and its surrounding acres in 1929 for one Tennessee Walker horse and a "valuable old book." That cabin was the start of The Fox & Hounds and is now called the "Early American Room." Wolf had his roots deep in early Wisconsin history. His great grandfather lived in Germantown and regularly traded maple sugar for tools and groceries at Solomon Juneau's trading post in Milwaukee. In 1932 Ray and Alta restored the old and weathered cabin and added on a small addition including a bar in the lower area that we now call the Rathskeller. Ray was a avid horseman and the cabin soon became a mecca for other equestrians and the headquarters for many a fox hunt. The name "Fox & Hounds" was a natural when the Wolf's opened their restaurant in 1933. Rooms were added to the original cabin over the years as the restaurants reputation and popularity grew. From the many recommendations and honors garnered, Ray and Alta's proudest moment came when Life Magazine cited the Fox & Hounds as one of America's 40 best roadside inns. Ray Wolf, restaurateur, artist, and collector of Early Americana, was perhaps best known and loved for his famous interpretive paintings of circus life and its personalities. His most famous painting, of Emmett Kelly, is titled "The Sad Clown." Some of Ray's paintings are on display in the restaurant. "Elephants" is in the Oak room, but the majority of his circus art work is in a vault at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Ray passed away in 1963 and Alta had no choice but to sell their restaurant.

Karl A. Ratzsch Jr., from the famous Karl Ratzsch's "Old World" German Restaurant in downtown Milwaukee, purchased the Fox & Hounds in 1964 and operated both restaurants until his retirement. I (Josef) started full time in 1976 as an Assistant Manager, in January 1985, my wife, Jane and I purchased the restaurant and are both currently involved with the day to day operation.

Through the years the restaurant received many awards and accolades, including the Distinguished Restaurants of North America's "DiRoNA" Award. We invite you to join us for intimate and historical dining as well as group gatherings and banquets. Although the years have gone by, the policies shared by the Wolf's and our family have never changed.