In 1962, Fritz and Cynthia Wendt bought a restaurant on the west shore of Lake Winnebago and started a Friday fish fry with a 99-cent perch dinner. Sixty-four years later, that fish fry is down to its final weeks. KFIZ reported on October 17 that Wendt's on the Lake Restaurant in Van Dyne will close for good on November 21, 2026.
The closing lands in the middle of the busiest stretch on the downtown Fond du Lac calendar. From Halloween to the first Saturday in December, the Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership has an event on every Saturday but one. Next fall, downtown will have a new calendar. Wendt's dining room won't be back. If you want one more perch dinner overlooking the lake, plan your Fridays first and let the Saturdays fill in around them.
The Fridays that are left
This post goes up on Thursday, October 29. Counting from then, Wendt's has four Friday fish fries left: October 30, November 6, November 13 and November 20. The last day of service, November 21, is a Saturday. The Fond du Lac Reporter confirmed November 21 as the final service and put the restaurant's run at 64 years.
The restaurant sits at N9699 Lakeshore Drive in Van Dyne, on Highway 45, overlooking Lake Winnebago. Its contact page lists Friday hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and says it takes reservations except on Fridays after 4 p.m. That page is undated, though, and a restaurant's hours in its final weeks don't always match its regular schedule. Call ahead before you drive up, especially on the last two Fridays.
The closing reaches past the dining room. According to FOX 11, the family announced it after efforts to sell the property within the family fell through. The KFIZ report lists the community groups the family thanked in its announcement: the West Shore Fishing Club, Sturgeon For Tomorrow, Water & Wings Youth Foundation, Lake Watchers, the Van Dyne Lions Club and the Van Dyne Fire Department.
The restaurant has also been a February gathering spot. Wendt's history page calls it a sturgeon spearing destination in winter, and FOX 11 describes spearers showing off their catch outside and then celebrating inside. When spearing season comes around again, this dining room won't be part of it. Wendt's Marina is staying open. Only the restaurant is closing.
The Saturdays, in order
The Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership's 2026 events schedule runs the fall and early winter one Saturday at a time. Here's how the weeks line up against Wendt's Fridays.
Saturday, October 31. Three things happen on this day. The Downtown Fond du Lac Farmers Market holds its last Saturday of the 2026 season, 8 a.m. to noon on Main Street from Division Street to 2nd Street, and no indoor season is listed after it. Starting at 10 a.m., Monster March sends kids in costume trick-or-treating at participating downtown businesses and market vendors along Main Street between Merrill and 2nd streets until noon. Then the city's trick-or-treat hours run from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., according to WBAY. If you have kids, you could do the market, Monster March and neighborhood trick-or-treating all on the same day, after a Wendt's fish fry the night before.
Saturday, November 7. The 2026 Holiday Wine Walk runs from noon to 5 p.m. Wine tickets cost $35 and mocktail tickets $25. Check-in is at 131 S. Main Street, and ticket holders get a two-ounce pour of wine or a mocktail at each participating location. This is also the first full week of the Partnership's Shop Small campaign, which runs from November 1 through December 31 and includes a sweepstakes.
Saturday, November 14. Nothing is on the downtown schedule. It's the only open weekend in the stretch, and it comes the day after Wendt's third-to-last Friday. If you'd rather have a quieter visit to Van Dyne than one of the last two fish fries, November 13 and 14 make a good pair.
Saturday, November 21. Downtown runs Bags & Bucks, which the Partnership's 2026 sponsorship packet calls a "Deer Camp Weekend" promotion. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., participating downtown businesses host specials, promotions, contests and other activities. It's also Wendt's last day of service. So November 20 is the last Friday fish fry, and November 21 is the last chance at anything on the menu.
Saturday, November 28. Small Business Saturday falls two days after Thanksgiving, with specials at participating downtown businesses as part of the Shop Small campaign. The Partnership hasn't published a list of participating stores, so watch individual shops for their own announcements.
Saturday, December 5. This is the busiest day of the stretch. Merry on Main runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's free, with activities at participating businesses and free Santa photos at Hotel Retlaw during the same hours. The Holiday Cookie Walk overlaps it from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with cookie samples at participating locations. At 4:15 p.m., the KFIZ Christmas Parade comes down Main Street. This year's theme is still listed as "TBD."
Where the two calendars collide
Halloween weekend is the first overlap. Friday, October 30 is a fish fry night with only three more after it. Saturday, October 31 has the farmers market's last morning, Monster March and the city's trick-or-treat hours. If you go to the market every week, that Saturday morning is your last chance until May. If you go to Wendt's on Fridays, the night before is one of your last four.
The second is November 20 and 21. The final fish fry falls on the Friday before the Bags & Bucks Saturday, and the restaurant closes for good that Saturday. Fridays at Wendt's have had a no-reservations-after-4-p.m. policy, so the last one is the night most likely to need an early arrival. Bags & Bucks wraps up at 3 p.m., so you could do downtown in the morning and still have the afternoon and evening for Van Dyne.
The KFIZ Christmas Parade's event page calls it the annual parade on Main Street. November 20 is the last Friday fish fry at Wendt's on the Lake.
The other things running on the same weeks
Two more seasonal schedules overlap this stretch.
City leaf collection started October 19 in the northeast section of Fond du Lac and is moving clockwise through the city. It ends December 11. After that, you'll have to take leaves to the yard waste drop-off site at 530 Doty Street, which you can also use anytime before then. The city's leaf collection notice has the details. If your section of the city comes up late in the rotation, those last pickups will arrive around Merry on Main and the parade weekend.
The Noon Rotary Holiday Light Show at Lakeside Park is the other one, and its 2026 dates aren't out yet. The Rotary's light show page still shows last year's schedule. In 2025, the show ran from November 27 through December 31, 5 to 11 p.m. nightly, with free admission and music on 89.1 FM. Last year's dates are the closest guide until the 2026 schedule is posted.
For a wider look at how Fond du Lac's year has gone, our earlier post on what changed about a Fond du Lac summer in 2026 covers the Forest Plaza retail openings, the new downtown weeknight event and the reunified Lakeside Park. The Fond du Lac neighborhood page has more about the area.
Whether you're going to Wendt's once more or catching the Saturdays downtown, the team at Tou Yang follows the Fond du Lac calendar as closely as the local housing market. If anything in your plans this season touches a move, a sale or a home question, schedule a free consultation and we'll walk you through the next steps.
