PASSING THE TORCH. Cynder Anderson, left, recently purchased the 1st & Goal Saloon in Chippewa Falls from longtime owner Bill Gauger, right. (Photo by Andrea Paulseth)

Cynder Anderson, a longtime bartender at 1st & Goal Saloon in Chippewa Falls, is quick to respond when asked what she likes about the business, which she became owner of on Jan. 1.

“The people and the camaraderie,” she says during a recent conversation at the tavern, 29 E. Park Ave. “My motto for the bar is ‘let’s make some memories.’ ”

Folks in Chippewa Falls have been making memories at what is now Cynder’s 1st & Goal for more than 70 years. Now a neighborhood sports bar – if the name doesn’t tip you off, the familiar green “G” on the sign outside will – the place was originally established in the 1940s as a diner not far from the railroad tracks on Chippewa Falls’ south side. Originally named the Coach Diner, owned by Bill Loiselle, it was housed in a literal train car. According to Anderson, who’s been researching the bar’s history, Loiselle dug a beer cave in the adjacent hillside, and by the 1950s had replaced the train car with a tavern, called Bill’s Place.

Bill Loiselle's children outside the original Coach Diner on East Park Street, circa the 1940s. (Submitted photo)

The original Bill's Place, now Cynder's 1st & Goal Saloon, circa 1951. (Submitted photo)

During a recent conversation with the original owner’s daughter, Anderson learned that Bill’s Place was one of the first establishments in Chippewa Falls to have a television. When an overflowing crowd of patrons came to watch a boxing match on the newfangled TV, the owner had to borrow chairs from a nearby church to accommodate the surge.

In the decades since, the tavern has been the kind of place where generations of patrons shared beers with friends, watched Packer games, danced to bands, and even met their future spouses. The name and ownership has changed numerous times – longtime Chippewa residents might recall it as Plunketts, Tooties, the Roustabout, or the Wooden Nickel. But much has stayed the same: Anderson has been collecting old pictures of the place and points out that in one taken around the 1950s, it’s clear that the interior is remarkably unchanged.

Cynder's 1st & Goal today. (Photo by Andrea Paulseth)

A vintage photo of Bill's Place, with original owner Bill Loiselle behind the bar. (Submitted photo)

Anderson, a bartender at 1st & Goal for a dozen years, bought the tavern from Bill Gauger, who owned the establishment for 20 years. Gauger himself is a local institution, having previously owned several other local taverns, including the Sunbeam and The Ritz. Like many old-fashioned taverns, the place includes a second-story living space, where Gauger lived until recently – as the proprietors before him had. Cynder describes him as a friendly guy and a good boss who regulars nicknamed, “Honey Badger.”

“This was like his living room,” Anderson said of the bar, “and all his friends came around.”
Now it’s Anderson’s living room – figuratively, at least. (She won’t be living upstairs.) From early-morning coffee drinkers to the later beer-and-brandy crowd, 1st & Goal is a busy but cozy place that caters to a blue-collar, neighborhood crowd. The wood-paneled walls are decorated with neon beer signs and lined with video machines. There are pool and dart leagues, a 3-6pm happy hour, plus trivia on Tuesdays, a DJ every other Friday, and live music most Saturdays.

Mostly, there’s the homey atmosphere created by generations of Chippewa Falls folks sipping Leinie’s Original, watching a game, and making memories.

Cynder’s 1st & Goal Saloon • 29 E. Park Ave., Chippewa Falls • (715) 723-7822 • www.facebook.com/1stGoalSaloon