Dave’s Place is giving a familiar Markesan restaurant a new start, with an experienced restaurateur at the stove and a menu built largely around homemade food.
Sandy’s Diner, which served the Markesan community for many years at 51 Water St., closed in 2025.
Dave Haase, who has been cooking for more than 20 years and has owned seven restaurants, purchased Sandy’s after it closed. He had never eaten at the location before buying it, but saw an opportunity to continue doing what he has done throughout his career: cooking.
“I like to cook,” he said. “I was a cook in the service.”
Haase served three years in the U.S. Army as a cook. Since then, he has owned restaurants in Wild Rose, Sun Prairie, Almondale, Granton and Loyal, Wisconsin.
Unlike some restaurant owners who step away from the kitchen, Haase continues to do the cooking himself.
“Nope, I do it all myself,” he said.
The transition to ownership was not without surprises. Haase said he was told the restaurant was a turnkey operation, but discovered significant problems when he took possession.
On the first day after closing, he went to use the restroom and found there was no water. After the water was turned on, water began pouring from the ceiling because pipes had frozen during the winter.
The frozen pipes, along with a grease trap problem, had not been disclosed to him before he purchased the restaurant.
“I’ve sunk $20,000 since I’ve had it,” he said.
The work delayed the restaurant’s opening. Work on the building began Oct. 10 and continued through Thanksgiving week, when he finally opened his restaurant Nov. 24.
Dave’s Place employs four part-time workers, and Haase handles the kitchen and the cooking.
Plates are piled high, and nearly everything served at his eatery is put together by him in the kitchen from scratch. Prices are lower than surrounding restaurants, he noted.
A recent guest pointed to his hamburger and fries order, priced under $10. It was so large it would probably feed two people.
Haase said the restaurant’s food is one of the reasons customers should give the business a try.
“We are cheaper than anybody else around the area, number one,” he said. “And our food is all homemade.”
The menu also includes offerings that were not available under the previous restaurant, including prime rib and a Friday fish fry. Other specials include meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried chicken strips and country breakfasts. Haase particularly is known for his large, fluffy omelets.
The Friday fish fry runs from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., and the restaurant will remain open later if customers are still there, Haase said. Diners may choose from cod or perch, and from serving sizes of two, three or four pieces, accompanied by coleslaw, dinner roll and a choice of potato.
Saturday night is prime rib night, another new addition. Choice is between a queen’s cut (8 ounces) for $20.99 or a king’s cut (16 ounces) for $26.99.
Families who want to experience a dinner service may choose from meals that include a 16-ounce tenderloin steak with shrimp, an order of jumbo shrimp, a mushroom and Swiss salisbury steak, pork chops, or choose between an 8-ounce queen’s cut ribeye steak, or a 16-ounce king’s cut ribeye. All meals come with sides, such as dinner rolls, potatoes and coleslaw or cottage cheese.
Plenty of classic diner favorites are available as well, including scratch-made pies, cheesecake, sundaes and shakes. The decor is retro 1950s. Haase said he wanted to keep that the same, since it helps to set the tone of an old-fashioned diner.
Dave’s Place served a Christmas luncheon in 2025 that was open to the public to celebrate opening his restaurant. It featured ham, mashed potatoes, baked beans, corn, coleslaw and a dinner roll, all for a price of $10.95. Not many holiday meals in the area featured that low of a price, Haase said.
The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dave’s Place recently added a bar in the back of the restaurant. The bar is open, although Haase said a few finishing touches remain to be completed. Customers can reach the bar through the restaurant or from an outside entrance.
Haase also is considering expanding his business interests. He said he is thinking about purchasing another business in Montello, the former Buffalo Lake Lodge.
For now, however, his focus remains on Dave’s Place and building the restaurant into a successful business in Markesan. Haase said he is always there, welcoming everyone into his restaurant, and anxious to cook for anyone who visits.
“Come on in and enjoy the food,” he said.
For more information or to order take-out, call 920-767-0059 or visit Dave’s Place on Facebook.