AJ’s Supper Club

Ismael Ayala offers classic supper club fare along with scenic views of Pigeon Lake at AJ’s Supper Club in Clintonville.

155 Eighth St., Clintonville
715-460-3076

For nearly 60 years, the building at 155 Eighth Street in Clintonville, which offers scenic views of Pigeon Lake, has welcomed generations of Clintonville families not only for Friday night fish fries but also for birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations and countless other memorable moments.
Today, that tradition continues under a new name — AJ’s Supper Club.
In March of 2025, Ismael Ayala purchased the former Mathew’s Supper Club, fulfilling a dream that had been years in the making. The building has been a fixture in the Clintonville community for decades, serving residents under several familiar names such as Bob’s Drive-In (1967–1985), The Edgewater (1985–1989), The Fire House (1990–1991) and Mathew’s Supper Club (1991–2025).
“I saw this as an opportunity to preserve an important part of Clintonville’s history while creating a place where new memories could be made,” Ayala said.
Originally from Mexico, Ismael has called Clintonville home for the past 20 years. Together with his wife and their two children, he built both a family and a successful business through Kenya’s Family Restaurant in downtown Clintonville, which his family closed with the opening of AJ’s.
“AJ’s offered everything I had hoped for,” Ayala said. “It had a spacious dining room overlooking Pigeon Lake, room for future growth, and a much larger parking lot than our downtown restaurant could provide.”
The restaurant’s name also carries a special meaning.
“The ‘A’ represents Ayala,” he said, “while the ‘J’ represents Jung, honoring my close friend and longtime customer, Eddie Jung. Our friendship and shared excitement for the project inspired the name AJ’s, symbolizing our loyalty, friendship and the beginning of a new chapter.”
When Ayala purchased the restaurant, he said one of the things that gave him confidence was knowing that longtime head cook Jodi Griepentrog planned to stay.
“Jodi had become part of the heart and soul of the restaurant after decades of serving the community,” he said, “and I looked forward to blending her experience with my vision for the future.”
On June 15, 2025, those plans changed when Jodi unexpectedly passed away.
Rather than rushing to open the doors without her, Ayala said he decided to remain closed while he completely transformed the restaurant.
What followed became much more than a remodeling project.
It became a community effort.
Friends, family members, local contractors, and volunteers came together to help to prepare one of Clintonville’s most recognizable buildings for it’s next chapter.
During the months that followed, nearly every corner of the building was transformed. New flooring, ceilings, lighting, updated restrooms, kitchen improvements, landscaping, exterior and interior painting, fresh décor and many other updates carefully blended the building’s rich history with an inviting atmosphere for today’s guests.
One of the final pieces of the renovation was the installation of AJ’s exterior signage that welcomed visitors and marked the beginning of a new era for the historic location.
Throughout the renovation, Ayala said he was committed to honoring the restaurant’s past while preparing for its future.
“Visitors will notice reminders of the building’s history along with a tribute to Jodi Griepentrog, whose decades of dedication helped make this restaurant a beloved Clintonville landmark,” he said.
In the classic supper club tradition, AJ’s serves a variety of drinks including nightly specials such as chocolate martinis, tequila old fashioneds, cranberry margaritas, orange creamsicles and raspberry refreshers.
Entrees include a variety of steaks, seafood and pastas.
Steaks can be ordered with toppings such as mushrooms, garlic herb butter, caramelized onions, blue cheese or onion straws. Customers can also add a shrimp skewer for $5.
Seafood choices range from shrimp and scallops to salmon, haddock and walleye while pastas range from a creamy Cajun seafood dish with shrimp and scallops tossed in a Cajun-spiced cream sauce to Chicken Marsala and Chicken Parmesan.
There also is a baked half-chicken dinner and a pork ribeye as well as a half-pound burger with a variety of toppings.
The steak and seafood entrees come with a choice of potato, soup and the salad bar. The salad bar, which includes soup, can also be added to other menu choices and customers can also order just the salad bar.
Items such as cheese curds, breaded calamari rings, lobster spinach and artichoke dip with tortilla chips, fried onion straws and chips with homemade guacamole are some of the “shareable” options.
A Friday fish fry offers perch, walleye or battered haddock and prime rib is the Saturday special. Other specials are offered throughout the week.
There’s also a kids’ menu that offers chicken tenders, macaroni & cheese, fettuccine noodles with marinara, steak bites and shrimp skewers.
Eventually, Ayala hopes to add outdoor seating and a pavilion where customers can enjoy live music. He also plans to add benches outside for customers who may have to wait on busy nights. A Taco Tuesday is also on his to-do list.
AJ’s is much more than a business for Ayala.
“It is an opportunity to give back to the community that has welcomed me and my family during the past two decades while preserving a place that has meant so much to generations of local families,” he said.