About Us

As of fall, 2023, the ownership of Foundry 45 consists of Dean & Sarah Heltemes, Brian & Lisa Lunde, Tom & Ali Krueger and Gary & Linda Gavin.

Our History

The Foundry 45 building has a deep history dating back over 60 years in the Kettle Moraine. There may not be a local family around that hasn’t attended an event or sat at the bar over the years. If the walls could talk, we bet they would have a lot of great memories to share. We wanted to
share a little of that history with you.

In 1958, Steve and Mary Rahn opened Steve & Mary’s Minor Bar. They were local Kewaskum residents and had two children, Jeanie and Judy. Nine years later, in 1967, their daughter Jeanie and her husband Al Amerling joined Steve and Mary in the bar. In 1973, they expanded the bar by adding the hall. It was at this time, they combined their last names of Rahn and Amerling and renamed the location The Amerahn.

Al and Jeanie had four children. Scott, Stephanie, Cammie and Craig.
They all grew up in the living quarters above the bar. The four children have many great stories from living and working there. Additionally, three out of four of them had their weddings at The Amerahn. The Amerahn stayed in the family for 23 years.

On January 1, 1981, Earl and Marie Kleinke bought The Amerahn. Earl and Marie hung out and even worked as bartenders for Steve and Mary and Al and Jeanie. In addition to operating the business, Earl was a bus driver and Marie was a hairdresser.

Earl and Marie had two children, Brian and Adam. They also lived and created memories in the living quarters above the bar. In 2010, Brian became a partner at The Amerahn. In 2011, shortly after Brian became a partner, Earl passed away. Marie and Brian continued to operate the Amerahn until March 26, 2021 when Seven Bridges Road purchased The Amerahn and began renovations to make it into what Foundry 45 is
today.

In 2021, a motley crew with one vision took this beautiful piece of property and a building with great bones and turned it into one of the premier venues in the area…Foundry 45. This group of dreamers included a plumber, a construction salesman, an AV expert, a designer, a diesel mechanic, a food and beverage connoisseur and a real estate junkie. A group of friends passionate about making a lifetime of memories for themselves and the community.