The GOAT: Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay

If your kids have ever asked, "Are those goats really on the roof?" while driving through Door County, you already know Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant & Butik. For generations of Milwaukee-area families making the three-and-a-half-hour drive up I-43, spotting the herd of live goats grazing on a grass-covered Norwegian log building has been the unofficial start of a Door County vacation. It is part roadside spectacle, part authentic Scandinavian restaurant, part gift shop rabbit hole, and entirely one of Wisconsin's most beloved family institutions. This guide walks your family through everything you need to know before you go: the real story behind those famous rooftop goats, what to order, when to arrive, how long you will wait, and how to build a perfect Sister Bay day around your visit.

Al Johnson's sits in the heart of Sister Bay at 10698 North Bay Shore Drive, right on Highway 42, directly across from Sister Bay Waterfront Park and the village beach. It is open year-round, serves what may be the most famous Swedish pancakes in the Midwest, and has been drawing families for more than seventy-five years. Here is everything a Milwaukee family needs to plan the trip.

How Al Johnson's began in 1949

The story starts with Axel Albert Otto "Al" Johnson, a Chicago-born son of Swedish immigrants who spent his childhood summers in Door County and six formative years living in Sweden. After serving as a paratrooper with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division during World War II and studying at Marquette University, Al returned to the peninsula he loved and, in 1949, opened "Al's Home Cooking" in a former Hanson's IGA grocery store in Sister Bay. The location has never changed. A quirky detail that still defines the experience today: Al adopted the shouted-order system he had learned working at a Woolworth's lunch counter, which is why servers still call orders across the dining room rather than using tickets or a computer.

In 1959 Al met Ingert Forsberg, a young Swedish woman from Österbymo who had come to Door County to work at nearby Gordon Lodge. They married the following year, and Ingert quickly became the creative engine behind the restaurant's unmistakable Scandinavian identity. She brought the folk art, the imported goods, the authentic Swedish recipes, and the vision for the adjacent Butik that transformed a country diner into a destination.

The building that flew across an ocean

The log-and-sod structure that tourists photograph today was not built in Wisconsin. In the late 1960s, Al and Ingert traveled to Oslo and met Knut Stenerud, a Norwegian master carpenter from Fagernes. Knut and his brothers first came to Door County to build the Johnson family home, then returned in the early 1970s to construct the restaurant itself. The entire Norwegian yellow pine log shell was cut, fitted, and assembled in Norway, then disassembled, with each log numbered and shipped across the Atlantic. Scandinavian carpenters reassembled it around the operating restaurant in Sister Bay without ever closing the doors. The famously green sod roof, one of the first modern sod roofs in America, was laid in the traditional Scandinavian way and still grows back naturally each year, just like a lawn. Inside, every piece of rosemaling, the elaborate traditional Norwegian decorative painting, was done freehand by the late master Sigmund Årstad, whom co-owner Rolf Johnson has called "the Michelangelo of Norwegian rosemaling." You will notice it on beams, panels, and doorways throughout the dining room. Travelers sometimes describe the building as a "stavkirke," but it is more accurately a traditional Norwegian log farmhouse with an authentic sod roof and Scandinavian folk art detailing.

How the goats got on the roof

Here is the story your kids will want told and retold. In 1973, just as the new sod-roof building was finished, Al's longtime friend Harold "Wink" Larson showed up with a goat named Oscar as a gag birthday gift. Wink and Al had a running tradition of one-upping each other with absurd animal gifts, and past presents had included a burro, a sheep, and a pig. Wink hoisted Oscar onto the grassy new roof, passersby stopped to stare, and by the end of the afternoon Al Johnson's had an accidental mascot. More than a half-century later, a rotating herd of roughly thirty named goats takes turns on the roof, with typically four or five grazing at a time. The current generation of goats lives year-round on a forty-acre farm outside Sister Bay owned by Al's son Lars Johnson and his family.

When the goats are actually up there

The goats go on the roof roughly from mid-May through mid-October, weather permitting. They head up each morning around 9 a.m. using a three-level slanted ramp with foot-holds on the back of the building, and they come down in the afternoon (the restaurant's FAQ says around 3 p.m., though in peak summer they sometimes stay later). Goats are not put up in rain, in strong wind, on very cold days, or when temperatures climb above 85 degrees. If the weather is iffy and you have driven three and a half hours to see them, the good news is that Al Johnson's operates a live Goat Cam at aljohnsons.com with two cameras covering nearly the entire rooftop. Check the stream before you leave your Milwaukee driveway and again when you hit Sturgeon Bay to know whether the herd is grazing that day.

The trademark nobody expected

Yes, Al Johnson's actually owns a federal U.S. trademark on "goats on a roof of grass" in connection with restaurant services. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Registration No. 2,007,624 in 1996, listing a first-use date of June 1, 1973. The family famously enforced it in 2009 when they sued a Georgia business called Tiger Mountain Market that had put goats on its own grass roof; the case settled when the Georgia shop agreed to pay Al Johnson's an annual licensing fee. Subsequent legal challenges to cancel the trademark went all the way up the chain, ending in 2020 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case. Tell your kids: the rooftop goats are not just cute, they are legally protected intellectual property.

Swedish heritage, authentic to the last detail

Sister Bay and the surrounding peninsula were settled heavily by Scandinavian immigrants in the mid-1800s. Norwegian Moravians founded neighboring Ephraim in 1853, a large Swedish farming settlement took root between Sister Bay and Appleport after 1867, and Washington Island just to the north became the second-oldest Icelandic community in the United States. Al Johnson's didn't invent this heritage; it honors it. Servers wear traditional Scandinavian folk-style uniforms (often colloquially called dirndls locally) with bodices, blouses, and aprons. The restaurant observes Midsummer with an annual party at its Stabbur beer garden around the June solstice, and for decades it has hosted a traditional Julbord, a multi-course Swedish Christmas smörgåsbord, over a weekend in early December. Past Julbord menus have included julskinka (Swedish pickled Christmas ham), multiple pickled herrings, Jansson's Temptation, potato sausage, Swedish meatballs, rice pudding with the hidden lucky almond, and glögg. Recent pricing has run about $34.95 per adult and $16.95 for kids twelve and under; reservations are required and sell out quickly, so call ahead at (920) 854-2626 or email reservations@aljohnsons.com if you want to build a holiday weekend around it.

The menu your family actually came for

Swedish pancakes are the main event

The dish that has launched a million Door County memories is the Swedish pancake: thin, eggy, crepe-style, and served with your choice of lingonberries, strawberries, cherries, or maple syrup. Locals know to ask for a dusting of powdered sugar on top. The pancakes are served all day, every day, and most tables order at least one plate regardless of whether anyone at the table ordered breakfast.

Breakfast all day, with Swedish touches

Breakfast is the soul of the menu. Beyond the pancakes, you will find Swedish meatballs and eggs, classic omelets, eggs Benedict (including a Florentine version), a Monte Cristo, homemade biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs, and hearty sides including Swedish sausage, Canadian bacon, homemade coffee cake, and American fries. Kids typically gravitate toward the Swedish pancakes and the legendary hot chocolate piled with whipped cream, which longtime Milwaukee families will tell you becomes a required ritual on every visit.

Lunch and Scandinavian classics

The lunch menu leans into Scandinavian specialties without abandoning Wisconsin comfort food. The Swedish meatball sandwich arrives with tangy pickled red cabbage. A havarti grilled cheese is built on slices of Swedish limpa bread, the restaurant's signature slightly sweet rye, and served with pickled beets and baby spinach. Hot open-faced roast beef and turkey sandwiches arrive under blankets of gravy, and the fish offerings include perch, walleye, and whitefish sandwiches served with cucumber salad as well as beer-battered baskets. For a more traditionally Nordic plate, try the homemade pickled herring appetizer with sour cream and red onion, the pytt i panna (Swedish roast beef hash with pickled beets), or the Assorted Scandinavian Cheese Plate featuring Swedish brick, caraway brick, farmers cheese, gouda, Norwegian goat cheese, and garnishes of fruit and chocolate. Swedish meals typically arrive with lingonberries and a basket of limpa bread.

Dinner favorites, when available

Historically Al Johnson's served dinner through the evening, with plates of Swedish meatballs, broiled Norwegian salmon, roast pork, fresh local whitefish, and perch. As of this writing in 2026, the restaurant's most widely listed daily hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week, so the classic dinner menu has contracted compared to past summers. If your family has its heart set on meatballs for dinner, call the restaurant directly before your trip to confirm current evening hours, especially during peak summer season. For evening eating and drinking at the same complex, the adjacent Stabbur beer garden and Kök quick-service window operate seasonally from late spring through October.

Kids menu and desserts

Al Johnson's has a full kids menu covering breakfast, lunch, and traditional entrees, with predictable favorites like chicken fingers, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, and kid-sized Swedish pancakes. On the dessert side, expect traditional schaum torte (a meringue-based Wisconsin-Scandinavian favorite), rice pudding, homemade pies including cherry, and strawberry shortcake in season. The Butik stocks imported pepparkakor (Swedish gingersnaps) and kardemumma skorpor (cardamom cookies) to take home.

Drinks and seasonal sips

The restaurant side is beer-and-wine only, and the signature sip for all ages is Al's hot chocolate. Next door at Stabbur you will find roughly twenty taps including a lingonberry ale from Wisconsin's Badger State Brewing, aquavit shots, house cocktails like the Malmö Mule and Stockholm Cooler, and in the cold months traditional glögg, the spiced Swedish mulled wine that appears around the Julbord season.

The Butik: a gift shop experience of its own

Al's Butik is attached to the restaurant and, honestly, is reason enough to visit even if you never get a table. Ingert Johnson created it so that waiting diners could browse authentic Scandinavian goods, and today it is packed with hand-painted Swedish Dala horses, imported Troentorp Swedish clogs, Norwegian and Icelandic wool sweaters, Ekelund linens, rosemaled housewares, and a serious Christmas section featuring nisse, tomte figures, Angel Chimes, and Dala-horse candle holders. The food aisles carry wild Swedish lingonberries in a jar, Al Johnson's own Swedish pancake mix, Scandinavian Roast coffee, Grandpa Lundquist glögg spice mix, Nyåkers cookies, Freia chocolate bars, and Finnish salty licorice. A separate, newer retail space called SKÅL, located just south of the restaurant near the village beach, carries more contemporary Scandinavian brands including Helly Hansen, Dale of Norway, Ilse Jacobsen, and Haflinger. For kids, look for the plush baby goats, toy Dala horses, and the charming picture book The Little Goat on the Roof.

Practical visitor information for your family

Al Johnson's sits at 10698 North Bay Shore Drive, Sister Bay, Wisconsin 54234, directly on Highway 42. The phone number is (920) 854-2626 and the website is aljohnsons.com. The restaurant is open year-round, with current daily hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., though historically summer hours have been extended and may change seasonally. Verify before you drive up, especially if you want dinner. There is a dedicated on-site parking lot plus street parking along Highway 42, and the space fills fast on peak summer mornings. The restaurant is wheelchair accessible, highchairs and booster seats are available, and all major credit cards as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted.

Why you can't make a reservation (and how to skip the wait)

Al Johnson's has not taken reservations for regular meals in more than forty years. It is strictly walk-in, first-come, first-served. In peak summer, that means Saturday-morning waits of ninety minutes to three hours. The management's own advice is unambiguous: arrive right at 7 a.m. when they open, or visit in the shoulder season. After Labor Day and before Memorial Day, waits often shrink to ten or twenty minutes. When you arrive, give your name to the hostess and take your pager or estimated wait time; the Butik, Stabbur, SKÅL, the marina across the street, and the village beach are all within steps, so the wait becomes part of the experience rather than a frustration. The only reservations you can make are for Julbord in early December.

Tips that make all the difference with kids

The obvious kid magnet is the goat viewing, and the best angle for photos is actually from across Highway 42 in Sister Bay Waterfront Park, where you get the full roofline in one shot. From the restaurant's own parking lot you will look up steeply but can see the goats up close. The Stabbur beer garden lawn, with its pergola tables and lawn games, is an excellent spot for families to watch the goats while waiting for a table. Before leaving home, load the Goat Cam on your phone so kids can watch live, and if grandparents didn't make the trip, share the link so they can see the goats too. Inside the restaurant, arrive with the expectation that the servers are shouting orders across the room; the noise is part of the fun. Bring cash for the Fall Fest Ping-Pong ball drop or Goat Drop contest if you happen to be visiting during community events. And remember to check the rooftop before ordering: children love spotting a new goat mid-meal.

Building a Sister Bay day around Al Johnson's

The location could not be more convenient for families. Directly across Highway 42 sits Sister Bay Waterfront Park, home to Door County's largest public waterfront, with more than 1,800 feet of shoreline, 600 feet of sandy beach, a widely praised playground, a universal-access boardwalk, kayak and paddleboard rentals, a swim pier, and a gazebo hosting free summer concerts and family movie nights. Admission and parking are free. A short walk brings you to the Door County Creamery, a farmstead goat dairy making fresh chèvre, gelato, and charcuterie boards (the goat theme is too perfect to skip). Three blocks away is the Door County Ice Cream Factory & Sandwich Shoppe at 11051 Highway 42, housed in a historic 1912 building and serving more than thirty house-made flavors plus sandwiches and pizza. Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza at 10677 Bay Shore Drive is another family staple for dinner.

A mile south you will find Corner of the Past Museum, where the Sister Bay Historical Society maintains fifteen restored buildings including an 1875 farmhouse, a barn, a granary, and a log cabin, with a kid-focused scavenger hunt that rewards completion with free ice cream. Admission runs around $10 for adults and is free for kids under eighteen. A short drive north brings you to Ellison Bluff County Park, with a dramatic cantilevered overlook perched a hundred feet above Green Bay, and further on, Newport State Park, Wisconsin's only designated wilderness state park and an official International Dark Sky Park for stargazing. South of Sister Bay, Peninsula State Park offers the accessible Eagle Tower canopy walk, Nicolet Beach, the 1868 Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, and the open-air Northern Sky Theater. Older families can add the thirty-minute Washington Island Ferry ride from Northport, where round-trip passenger fares run roughly $15 for adults and $8 for kids six to eleven, with under-fives free.

When to visit

Summer (Memorial Day through Labor Day) is peak: goats every day, long waits, full lodging, and every shop open. Book accommodations three to six months ahead. Early fall (September through mid-October) is arguably the sweet spot for families: goats still on the roof, peak color around the second week of October, and shorter restaurant waits. The annual Sister Bay Fall Fest takes over the village on the third weekend of October with a parade, arts and crafts, a Lions Club fish boil, a famous Ping-Pong ball drop, and a Fall Fest Derby race; it is free, family-run, and unforgettable, but lodging must be booked at least six months out. Late spring brings cherry blossoms in late May and the Roofing of the Goats Parade, which in recent years has happened in early to mid-June and officially ushers the herd onto the roof with a parade down Highway 42 followed by a Goat Fest at Stabbur featuring a Swedish pancake-eating contest and a biodegradable "Goat Drop" fundraiser for the Northern Door Food Pantry. Winter is quiet: no goats, some shops closed, but the restaurant stays open and the Julbord weekend in early December is a magical reason to make the drive.

Cultural impact and recognition

Al Johnson's is not just a restaurant; it is one of the cultural reasons Door County became a tourism destination in the first place. Destination Door County staff have said one of the top five questions they receive is simply "Where is the place with the goats on the roof?" The business has been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel, profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, covered by NPR, highlighted in the Smithsonian's travel coverage, and written up in countless guidebooks. Along the way, the family has collected honors including the Wisconsin Governor's Tourism Award for Service Excellence (2019), Rubicon Global's "Best Small Business in America" designation (2018), the Door County Economic Development Corporation's Entrepreneur of the Year (2017), and a Travel Green Wisconsin sustainability certification. In June 2024 the family celebrated the restaurant's seventy-fifth anniversary with a weekend-long party featuring Scandinavian dancers and live music. Today the business remains family-owned: Ingert Johnson still owns the restaurant, and her three children, Lars, Annika, and Rolf Johnson, run daily operations alongside several grandchildren.

The takeaway

Al Johnson's is more than a breakfast stop. It is a three-and-a-half-hour drive that compresses seventy-five years of Swedish immigrant heritage, Norwegian craftsmanship, rooftop livestock, and Wisconsin hospitality into one unforgettable family experience. The smartest play for a Milwaukee family is to turn it into a weekend: check the Goat Cam before you leave, arrive at 7 a.m. for breakfast, cross the street to Waterfront Park for the afternoon, grab ice cream on the way back, and save the Butik for the long sunny walk home. Whether your kids remember the lingonberries, the whipped-cream hot chocolate, the rosemaling on the beams, or the single moment when a goat looked directly down at them from a grass roof, Al Johnson's is the kind of place that turns a Door County trip into a family tradition. Seventy-five years in, it still earns the drive.