216 E. Sheridan · Ely, Minnesota

It's time to
bring it back.

The Ely Steak House fed this town for over two decades. Post-paddle steaks. First dates. Anniversary dinners. The Bucky Burger at midnight. It was never just a restaurant. It was a place Ely claimed as its own.

Now a group of locals, former regulars, and people who've been making the trip up here for years are asking a simple question: What if we owned it ourselves?

This is not a petition. This is not a GoFundMe. This is the beginning of something different — a community-owned co-op where every member has a real vote, a real stake, and a real reason to show up.

Count Me In — Register Your Interest Read the Story
👥 Community Interest Tracker
👥 People pledged
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💵 Total pledged
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📊 Of $850K goal
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These are non-binding expressions of interest only. No money has been collected. See full disclaimer below.
The Story

North of the Laurentian Divide,
there was a steakhouse.

The Ely Steak House opened in 1997 on Sheridan Street and became something that's genuinely hard to explain to people who weren't there.

It was the place you went after nine days on the water. Where the walleye sandwich hit different because you'd earned it. Where the steaks had a name — Kick Butt — and the name was accurate. Where the bar had a fireplace and enough bottled beers to keep an argument going all night about which one was best.

It was family-owned and family-run, and somewhere in that equation it became a family restaurant for the whole town — and for everyone who came through Ely and never quite left it behind in their minds.

When it closed, people felt it. You can still find the grief on Facebook, years later. "Best steak I ever had." "I make a point of stopping every time I'm up there." "My kids loved that burger."

The building is still standing at 216 E. Sheridan. The kitchen equipment is still inside. The sign is still there.

All that's missing is us.

216 E. Sheridan Street, Ely Minnesota — home of the Ely Steak House
What We're Building

Not a restaurant.
A community institution — owned by the community.

The plan is straightforward, even if the work ahead isn't:

Acquire & Restore

Acquire the building at 216 E. Sheridan. Refresh the kitchen. The bones are already there — the equipment is inside. We're reopening, not starting from zero.

Bring Back the Menu

The steaks. The Bucky Burger. The walleye. The Steer Beer. And thoughtful additions that honor what made the original great — without pretending the clock stopped in 2019.

Hire Right

Re-hire people who know how to cook, pour a drink, and make a stranger feel at home. A working restaurant, not a museum. Run by professionals. Owned by the community.

The Kick Butt steak — signature dish of the Ely Steak House

The Co-op Difference

Do it as a co-op. Owned not by one investor or one family, but by the members of this community — locals, visitors, former regulars, and anyone else who believes Ely deserves this back. This is a working restaurant, not a museum. We're bringing it back to life, not putting it in a frame.

How It Works

One pledge. One vote.
That's the whole idea.

Community co-ops aren't complicated. They've been around for over a century — credit unions, food co-ops, rural electric cooperatives... a certain Wisconsin sports team. Thousands of people own a piece of something they love together, and nobody gets to come in and sell it out from under the community because the community is the owner.

🗳️

One Pledge = One Vote

Every member who makes a pledge — at any dollar level — holds exactly one vote in co-op governance. A $100 member and a $5,000 member have equal say. That's not an accident. That's the point.

📈

Variable Profit Sharing

Voting is equal. But if and when the co-op generates surplus revenue, distributions are proportional to your contribution. Members who pledged more receive a larger share of any patronage dividends. This rewards larger contributions without concentrating power.

🏛️

Member-Elected Board

Major decisions are made by a member-elected board. Day-to-day operations are managed by a hired general manager with real restaurant experience. You own it. You don't have to run it.

📅

Annual Meetings

Members meet annually to vote on major decisions, hear financials, and hold leadership accountable. No surprises. Full transparency. Every year.

Plain Language Version

You buy in at whatever level makes sense for you. You get a vote. If the place makes money, you see a return proportional to what you put in. And nobody — not a developer, not a hedge fund, not an outside investor — can come in and change what this place is without the membership saying so.

Share Tiers

Find your place at the table.

All shares carry exactly one vote. Profit sharing is proportional to total contribution.

🥩
The Regular
$100
"For what you'd spend on one great dinner out."
One vote. One membership. One stake in what happens here. This is the entry point and it's intentional. We wanted anyone who ever sat down at that table to be able to say they're part of bringing it back.
🍺
The Local
$500
"For the people who knew it best."
Five times the profit share weight of a Regular membership. One vote. For the regulars, the former staff, the people who had a usual order.
🦌
The Northwoods
$1,000
"For the people who believe in what Ely is."
Ten times the profit share weight. One vote. For folks who want to put real weight behind this.
🌲
The Founding Member
$2,500
"For the people who want to be part of the origin story."
Twenty-five times the profit share weight. One vote. Founding Members will be recognized on a permanent wall in the restored restaurant — a list of the people who made it possible.
🏛️ Founding Wall Recognition
🐂
The Cornerstone
$5,000+
"For the people who want to go all in."
Variable profit share proportional to total pledge. One vote. Cornerstone members will be invited to participate in early planning conversations as the co-op formalizes its legal structure.
🏛️ Founding Wall + Early Planning Conversations
Note: All pledges are currently non-binding expressions of interest. No money is being collected at this stage. Share prices, tier names, and structure are subject to revision as the co-op formalizes its legal structure with cooperative law counsel.
Financial Transparency

Here's what we know.
Here's what we don't.

We're not going to pretend we have a spreadsheet with every line item nailed down. We don't. What we have is a realistic picture of what it takes to bring a place like this back — and a commitment to be straight with you about the numbers at every stage.

Item Estimated Range
Building acquisition (216 E. Sheridan) ~$390,000
Renovation & equipment refresh $150,000 – $250,000
Liquor license, permits, legal formation $15,000 – $30,000
Initial food & beverage inventory $20,000 – $40,000
Staffing (pre-open + first 90 days) $60,000 – $100,000
Working capital reserve $75,000 – $150,000
Total estimated range $710,000 – $960,000

🏠 Rental Income Floor

The building has four residential apartments upstairs. Rental income from those units will offset carrying costs and provide a revenue floor that a standalone restaurant would not have. This is a meaningful structural advantage.

🍳 Equipment Is Already There

The kitchen equipment is still in the building. This is not a build-from-scratch situation. The bones are there. We're refreshing and reopening, not starting from zero.

📉 Distributed Risk

In a traditional restaurant, one owner carries all the downside. In a co-op, risk is spread across hundreds of members. No single person loses their house if a quarter goes sideways — and the community has a direct incentive to show up and make it work.

When Will You See a Return?

We're not going to promise you a timeline because we'd be making it up. What we can say: any surplus distributions will be proportional to your membership level, and the board will be accountable to the membership for financial performance every single year.

Community Memory Wall

Tell us your story.
Show us your table. Share the memory.

This wall belongs to everyone who ever walked through that door. Upload a photo. Write down what you remember. It doesn't have to be long. It just has to be true.

The legendary Bucky Burger

Share Your Memory

Submissions are reviewed before posting. Keep it real, keep it kind.

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From the Community

Be the first to share a memory.

Submissions appear after review.
👥 Live Interest Tracker
👥 People pledged
—
💵 Total pledged
—
📊 Of $850K goal
—
These are non-binding expressions of interest only. No money has been collected. See full disclaimer below.
Register Your Interest

Ready to be
part of this?

Registering your interest costs you nothing right now. You're telling us you care — and helping us demonstrate to the community (and to lawyers, accountants, and future partners) that this project has real support.

When we move to a formal capital raise, everyone who registered here will be the first to know. You'll have the opportunity to convert your non-binding pledge into a real membership — or walk away. No pressure, no obligation.

What we need from you today: your name, your email, your hometown, and a sense of what level you'd be comfortable supporting.

Important — Please Read This pledge is a non-binding expression of interest only. No money is being collected. Submitting this form does not create a legal obligation of any kind. This website and its pledge tracker do not constitute an offer to sell securities, an offering memorandum, or an investment solicitation. A formal capital raise, if it proceeds, will be conducted in compliance with applicable state and federal law with full disclosure documentation. Do not pledge more than you would be genuinely comfortable losing.

Count Me In

Takes about 60 seconds. 100% non-binding.

FAQ

Questions we've already
heard you asking.

It's as real as the community makes it. We're in the interest-gauging phase right now — we want to know if enough people care before we move forward with the formal legal and financial work. What we're asking for right now is your name, your email, and a sense of how much you'd be willing to pledge. That's it.
No. A pledge right now is a non-binding expression of interest. No money changes hands. No legal commitment is made. We're building a picture of what community support looks like before we take formal steps.
Absolutely. The Ely Steakhouse mattered to a lot of people who don't live here full-time — paddlers, seasonal visitors, people who moved away but never forgot the place. Co-op membership will be open to anyone who wants to be part of this.
Nothing. Since no money is collected at this stage, there's nothing to return. If we determine the project isn't feasible, we'll communicate that directly to everyone who registered interest.
We would consider it a founding failure if it wasn't.
We don't have a date. We're being honest about that. The path from here to an open restaurant involves legal formation, a formal capital raise, building acquisition, renovation, licensing, and staffing. We're not going to give you a date we can't stand behind. What we can tell you is that this community's response to this interest campaign will determine how fast we move.
In a traditional investment, the person with the most money has the most power. In our model, every member has exactly one vote regardless of how much they pledged. You're not buying stock. You're buying membership in something that belongs to the community.
Yes. Our intent is to build a structure that allows future staff to participate in ownership. The details of how that works will be determined with cooperative law counsel as we formalize the structure.
Good. Email us at contactelysteakhouse@gmail.com and a real person will respond.