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Rockton Bar, located on State Hwy. 131 between Ontario and La Farge, is a quiet place where locals can enjoy a meal and a cool drink.

However, between April and October when Sunday rolls around, the establishment rumbles with activity as Harley-Davidson enthusiasts ride into town for barbequed chicken.

The bar has become a well-known spot by word of mouth.

Stacy Myers, who owns the bar with his wife, Jodi, said Rockton Bar has three things going for it to make it popular, “location, location, location.”

He said being in Vernon County, in the Driftless Area and near the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, are factors that help make the bar a popular stop.

“And we’re lucky we inherited (the bar) from a good promoter,” Myers said.

The Myers purchased the bar in 1998 from Jodi’s father, Dean Hamilton, who bought the business in 1970. The Myers, and Hamilton before them, use the previous owner’s recipe for the sauce to baste the chicken.

“Tourism is what keeps us alive,” Myers said.

Over the years the popularity of the noon meals has grown.

“We have noon specials every day and that’s the locals,” Myers said. “Friday fish fry is the locals — La Farge, Ontario and Viroqua. Saturday and Sunday is mostly tourists.”

On Saturdays, prime rib is served, and it is not uncommon to prepare 200 prime rib.

In the spring months, 200 to 300 chicken halves are grilled each Sunday. During the summer, 500 to 600 halves are grilled. Myers said sometimes 800 have been prepared.

“Weather is a huge factor,” Myers said. “It is 100 percent weather dependent.”

The bar’s barbeque pit is 35 feet long, and 455 chicken halves can be cooked at one time. It takes two-and-one-half hours to cook the chicken.

“Sometimes it’s close to two runs,” Myers said. “It’s crazy on Sunday.”

At 9 a.m., the phone starts ringing as people begin reserving their chicken dinners. When the phone is picked up, call waiting kicks in.

“You can get 15 calls and only answer the phone one time,” he said.

Myers said he has customers well trained to reserve their chicken so no one is disappointed. Oftentimes the chicken, which is served with baked beans, macaroni salad and a slice of bread, is sold out by 1 p.m.

“At 10 a.m. or so, there’s some traffic coming,” Myers said. “By 11:30 a.m., noon, it’s a constant roar. By 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., it’s so quiet you wonder where they’ve gone.”

During the peak serving time, Myers said people are parked on Hwy. 131 and in the bar’s front and back parking lots.

“It’s just like you’d picture Sturgis,” he said.

“Years ago we never thought it (the barbeque chicken) would get this big,” Myers continued. “It’s blown me away. It’s fun to see.”

Myers said the out-of-town people who patronize the bar come from four or five hours away.

“From the Twin Cities you go clockwise from Eau Claire, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Chicago once in a while, the Quad Cities, De Moines and northeast Iowa,” he said. “We get a lot from northeast Iowa.

“Our tourism is where we make money and it’s the locals who keep us open,” Myers continued.

The Rockton Bar is also a regular stop for those who canoe the Kickapoo River or camp at the Kickapoo Reserve.

Vernon County has many special places, like the Rockton Bar, that serve good food and have good friendship. On Sundays for many, “All roads lead to the Rockton Bar.”