01/14/2026
We have seen a handful of post asking who owns West End Tavern, so we thought we would provide an answer. The West End Tavern has three owners. The ownership group is not affiliated with any other restaurants in Minnesota.
Eric Johansen will be the day-to-day operator of the West End Tavern. He was born and raised in Cook where he resides today. He has been successfully operating A-Z Property Management for many years.
Jordan Caviness has successfully operated restaurants in Iowa where he owns and operates multiple locations. Shuey’s is his current project and spends time working to continuously make improvements to food and service. The link to the Shuey’s website is in the comments. He will be working closely with Eric on operations.
Ken Brown and his family operate multiple businesses located in Tennessee, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Georgia. Ken's family began visiting Lake Vermilion in the late 60s and has owned a cabin since 1977 which he owns today.
The team is excited to support the Lake Vermilion community and look forward to making great friends and memories for years to come.
We will post more about the renovations soon.
Thank you all for the exciting comments your support is energizing!
West End Tavern Team
