BASCO — For those over 6 feet tall, the ceiling still causes a crane of the neck — for some a full-on duck. It only takes two dimes to play a game of bumper pool. Blatz remains a staple, only now it’s served from a can instead of a tap.
While Dot's Tavern now has an outdoor beer garden, music stage and food truck, Kari Ace says the basement bar remains largely the same since a remodel in 1969. Her grandparents bought the place in 1948 and lived upstairs. Dot’s Tavern, in the basement of a farmhouse in southern Dane County, is a throwback and a survivor when rural taverns are disappearing along with the thirsty farmers who helped keep them in business.
But here on Henry Road, just east of Highway 69, between Belleville and Paoli, this family-owned watering hole, now in its third generation, has found a path to viability. It includes picnic tables, craft beer and seltzers, a music stage, food truck, and complimentary sunscreen and bug spray. Small painted rocks are used to anchor the cash of those who have bellied up to the outdoor bar.
When the weather is warm and the rain holds off, Dot's Tavern in Basco expands to an outdoor setting with a beer garden, music stage and food truck. The bar, in the basement of a farmhouse in southern Dane County, has been owned by one family since 1948. And proprietors Kari and Dave Ace believe the late Dorthea “Dot” Northwick would approve of the slightly more modern improvements and the summer expansion since the COVID-19 pandemic.
