Keep your eyes out for a fiber workshop and sale later this year at the Ewe. The Wandering Ewe’s tasty Americana offerings include Homemade Stone-Baked Pizzas, Burgers, Wings, Fried Fish, Sandwiches, a variety of Appetizers, Prime Steaks from Spring Valley’s own A Butchery Shoppe, and lots of Lamb Specialties from Cedar Fen Farm! Formerly known to the local community as the Crystal Bar, reputedly
owned by Marvin and Hazel Seamen in the 1950’s, and then by Mill & Marge Johnson in the 60's, changing the name to The Crystal Lady, and most recently as Sneakers Pub & Eatery, owned by Pete DeGross & Ruth Esanbock until 2018, The Wandering Ewe has seen it's fair share of changes through the years. A quick rundown of history:
This establishment, in its earliest years, had a kitchen located where the porch now is! The Spring Valley Dam which created Lake George was built during these years, boosting the population of single men in town. The men who came in to work on the dam often took one of the rooms above the bar. There was live piano entertainment and a stage in the back with a burlesque show for adult patrons. Some of our older customers remember trying to get a peek inside through the front door and being chased off! Many entertaining stories can be heard while having a beer at the bar with our patrons during happy hour. 🍻
The dam was finished in 1968 or thereabouts. Kathy Warwick took the establishment over and rebuilt the kitchen at the end of the bar near the end of the 1960’s, removing the stage. The bar changed hands a number of times in the following years. Then in 1996, Ruth Esanbock’s father, Pete, asked her if she wanted to run a restaurant with him and they bought the establishment, renaming it Sneakers Pub & Eatery. The two of them created an Americana menu and a friendly atmosphere that made Sneakers the popular family and community hangout it was for more than 20 years. In the summer of 2018, Ruth decided to retire after keeping Spring Valley happy and well-fed for all those years. The Landin family purchased Sneakers and have been updating the building, the menu & so many other aspects of this small-town gem ever since. A 4-season porch was added where the tented patio used to be. Open air in summer with a deck for smokers, and toasty warm in the cold months for added event & dining space! Stop in to check out all the changes to the inside as well! A handicap entrance has been added at the back, a family restroom has been added inside, and so much more! But the locals will be glad to know that in honor of Sneakers & the value it brought to this small community for so very long, the Green Bay Packers painted ceiling above the bar remains untouched!
