Anton’s is a family owned and operated (since 1973) restaurant located in Waite Park, Minnesota. “Fine Dining” is taken to a whole new level at Anton’s with a supper-club atmosphere and a lazy river in the back of their restaurant. I took a trip there recently with a coworker and really enjoyed the warm welcome we received – and the food! My favorite part about their menu was their famous popovers with the honey butter, which is all made in-house. The waiter made it a great experience all around, and I was thoroughly impressed with the options this local place had. They have options that cater to the meat-eater like duck, pork chops and steak but also adhere to the vegetarians’ tastes through massive salads and vegetarian entrée options.

Anton’s currently has 44 employees, which is quite large compared to the other small restaurants around the area. Some monetary perks the staff can enjoy include: seniority, scheduling flexibility, cross training (bartending, serving, host positions and more), food discounts, no holiday shifts and staff incentives to earn “Anton’s Bucks” to be used toward restaurant merchandise (t-shirts, coupons, etc), food and drink.

I was able to contact the restaurant manager, Patty and gain some insight into what it’s like working for Anton’s. Her favorite part about managing Anton’s is the family first attitude they hold and the comradery. In addition, she stated that many of the customers that come on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis are like family. They have grown together with the customers in the community through schools, college, sports, fundraising events and neighborhood involvement.

I personally enjoyed her answer when I asked for some tips on how they manage a successful restaurant: “Hire great people and be sure they understand your concept. Treat them like family. Make yourself memorable. The most important money you will spend is money that adds value to the guest. Be ready for change, to evolve (even challenging change, such as Covid-19).” Her favorite meal at Anton’s is their Glazed Duck with Wild Rice & Brussel Sprouts, and of course the Popover!

Due to Covid-19, Patty was able to share some insight on that. She says that “if anything positive comes out of the Covid-19 Pandemic, it will be the light it is shining on small business. We run on very thin margins. Our employees are like family, as are many of our customers. We don’t have to think twice about investing in our communities & our schools (through donations & advertising).” With the pandemic on our hands, we can’t forget about the small businesses in our communities and what they offer us when everything was normal. Please get out to these places and support them when things get back up and running!

Patty wanted to add some information about Anton’s for the general public:

• We are hoping the mandate will be lifted May 1 and we can get back to work!
• Our Spring Dinner Theater was canceled due to the mandate but keep an eye out for the new dates.
• It’s almost patio season and we have the greatest view around!
• We will be rolling our new menu in a few weeks and new summer cocktails will be coming soon
• We are still open for takeout and deliveries via Food Dudes.