Acorns Bar & Grill at Waterloo golf course caters to the public

Acorns Bar & Grill may be tucked inside the rural Waterloo golf course’s clubhouse, but it’s open to all.

“A lot don’t cater to the public, but we do,” said owner Bill Ebeler, 64. “We like to pride ourselves in being friendly. We welcome everybody, whether they play golf or not. We get our share of people who don’t even play golf. We’re proud of that. Locals come out and eat the cod dinners. They like the pizza and hot wings — bar-type food.”

Acorns Golf Links, a course laid out on 130 acres of rolling hills, is just off Lakeview Drive south of Waterloo. Folks stop in on the way to Maeystown or after a drive along Bluff Road.

On a recent Wednesday, golfers pulled up chairs in the handsome bar and grill to grab a bite. The room has deep green walls, a stone fireplace, a bar, big-screen TVs and hardwood floors. The wood, oak from trees taken down when the course was built, was milled on site.

Leslie Niemann, of Waterloo, and his group took seats near the windows that overlook the lake, waterfall and course beyond. They had just completed 18 holes on a warm summer evening. He and brothers Larry and Stanley have been golfing together for 40 years. Larry’s wife Trudy also played that night.

“We come here quite often,” said Trudy, of Smithton. “We like the golf course, the country setting. There are no lights around it.”

“We saw deer on the course,” said her husband, Larry, who ordered lemon pepper wings.

“The food is great,” said Leslie. “It’s always good here.”

Stanley Niemann was familiar with the course from the Audubon Society. “They do a lot of nature stuff out here,” he said. Acorns works with the Kaskaskia Audubon Society to document animals and birds sighted on the course. Photos of the birds hang on clubhouse walls.

Gail Yeager and three friends grabbed seats under bright blue umbrellas on the patio.

“We jump around to different courses in the Waterloo area,” she said.

“We like the majestic pretty scenery here,” said Pat Easley. “The course is challenging. but manageable.”

Favorite hole?

“Number 9. It’s a par 3, kind of challenging where they cut the spin (place the hole). That makes it different.”

Is the food as good as the golfing?

“It might be our main reason for coming,” said Pam Bode. The women, all from Waterloo, recommend chicken salad, pizzas and roast beef sandwich. That night, BLTs were popular.

A few minutes later, Bill and server Carmen Klinkhardt brought out 12-inch pizzas ($8.50 for one topping), fried chicken (two pieces with two sides such as fries, corn or slaw, $7) and sandwiches (such as BLTs, roast beef, and chicken salad, all $7.50). He pointed out cheesy garlic mashed potatoes on a plate of fried chicken.

“That’s one of our calling cards,” said Bill. “They’re made with red-skinned potatoes, grilled with a crust on the outside. Fried chicken is one of our specialties. Obviously, being in Monroe County, we sell cod cut-ups (1/2 pound, plus two sides for $9.75). We sell a lot of hot wings. (2 pounds for $10 is a Wednesday night special.) The 12-inch pizza, we make it any way they want. We make our own bread. A hot dog is served on fresh bread. So is a hamburger.”

Acorns started as Bill’s dream.

“The opportunity came up to get some ground,” said his wife, Jeanne.

“We sat down and had conversations,” said Bill. “Did they really want me to do that? I couldn’t do it by myself. We had some tough decisions. I don’t think anyone realized how much work it was going to be.”

His sons Ryan and Jeff were in their teens when he and Jeanne considered the idea. Daughter Mandy was still in grade school.

“I got the bug years before that,” he said, “but couldn’t afford to pull it off. I always wanted to build a golf course. Design and architecture always intrigued me. The beauty of it intrigued me. I’m in the food service business in a way, selling stainless-steel products. (Bill owns Omega Products Inc. in Waterloo, a business his wife and son Jeff now oversee.) It’s been a family project, family-owned and family-run.”

“Our boys both golfed in high school,” said Jeanne. “They and Bill designed the course out of Play-Doh. It takes years to grow in, and finally has. Everything is on the upswing.”

“My contribution was the waterfall,” said Ryan, 36, head golf manager. “I was pretty young.”

They started building in 1994. The course opened in the fall of 1997.

Ryan tries to play once a week.

“My favorite hole is probably Number 6. It’s a par 3. It’s probably got a 30-foot drop onto the green. It’s situated by water. There’s a small lake in front of the green, with creek behind it.”

Mandy, 28, who describes herself as a fair-weather golfer, does the books and banquet bookings.

Acorns can accommodate between 20 and 160 in its three banquet rooms. Bill led the way into a room that seats 50. White tablecloths covered a mix of round and square tables. Open a room divider and the space doubles.

“We do a lot of summer weddings,” he said. “This weekend, we have a wedding of 32 people. We do a lot of small weddings. Get married at one end. We set up like a church, and eat over here after. We also have a golf tournament this weekend. We do a lot of banquets, three or four a week, anniversary parties, showers. ...”

The hardest part? “People,” said Bill. “It’s a family business, but you can’t do it with family alone.”

Employees often have been to Acorns before.

“I try to hire a lot of young golfers,” he said. “We host the high school teams from Valmeyer, Waterloo and Gibault here.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2015 at 6:09 AM with the headline "Acorns Bar & Grill at Waterloo golf course caters to the public."