CASCO, Wis. — A little after 10 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Village Kitchen in Casco, owner Chris Jacobs was busy with her kitchen staff cooking and filling orders.
“Sunday mornings we're open from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. We just serve breakfast. We’ve been doing this for 25-plus years, so we’ve been doing this for a long time,” she said. “It’s just a typical Sunday around here.”
For the past week, that mix of business has included people headed out to the woods and fields in and around Kewaunee County in search of that trophy deer.
“It’s a little bit busier during hunting week, but then we also get the shoppers, so we had a good, busy, week all week,” Jacobs said.
According to Hunting Works For Wisconsin, hunters spend $2.6 billion annually in the state. That’s everything from food and gas to ammunition.
For Ryan Hatzenbeller of Sobieski, Sunday is one more chance to get out into the woods for the gun deer season.
“I took the pressure off last weekend and got two opening morning. That made it easier,” he said. “I’ve been spending some time with the baby and not hunting as much this year, but it’s nice to see some snow today. Hopefully, they’ll be moving tonight, and I’ll get lucky again.”
Hatzenbeller said the season is as much about being in nature as it is coming home with a deer.
“It’s all about tradition. It’s just really nice to be out,” he said. “It’s fun sitting out in nature. I got to watch an owl chase around some bunnies yesterday morning. That was pretty cool.”
With the nine-day hunt coming to an end, both Hatzenbeller and Jacobs expect things to be a little more routine Monday morning.
“It’s just another week now,” Jacobs said with a laugh. “We start all over.”