WAITE PARK -- In a matter of days, a Waite Park businessman will see the culmination of 13-months worth of work when he opens the doors to his new bar and restaurant.

Tom Frericks lost his business of 35 years to a fire on April 6th, 2020. On Saturday, a newly-designed and rebuilt Ultimate Sports Bar & Grill at 1101 Division Street in Waite Park will open at 10:00 a.m.

He says like most bar and restaurant owners, they are confined by the nature of their buildings. So, when he had the opportunity to build from scratch it allowed his vision of what the bar could be, to actually become reality.

I was able to go from the ground up so I didn't have any (structural) limitations. Then I was able to use 35 years of vision that every day when I walked in here I just let my mind wander on how I could try to make my bar a little better. And, now I was able to put all of that into a new concept.

And, Frericks told himself that if he was going to rebuild, then he didn't want to have any regrets...

My whole concept was, if you're going to do this, do it right. Don't cut corners and have regrets a year from now, two years from now, three years from now when you get one opportunity to do this after losing everything.

The new 40'-x-80' deck will include a covered space that will be kept warm with permanent heaters and natural gas-powered fire tables. The deck will also have open seating for warm, sunny days and a performance stage.

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Frericks says the new bar and patio grew by about 2,700 square feet. It includes 10-foot glass doors that open to the patio and better efficiencies in the kitchen and wait staff areas. The bar also has nearly double the amount of TVs, going from 42 before the fire to 75 now.

Frericks credits the city of Waite Park for helping him through some key logistics in order to rebuild. The city agreed to a land swap that vacated the alley and brought Frericks' properties into one contiguous parcel.

The Ultimate will be offering an expanded menu but Frericks says they will keep the burger and wing specials that were popular before.

Ultimate Sports Bar and Grill

 

Fire Destroys the Ultimate Sports Bar and Grill

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