Juneteenth holiday holds special meaning for this Fox Valley business owner

APPLETON, Wis. — Juneteenth, or June 19, is a day marking the end of slavery in the United States. This holiday has a special meaning for one Fox Valley business owner.

Wilder’s Bistro owner and executive chef Terrance Wilder said his flavor-packed kitchen has something for all customers.

“We have about 80 different things on our menu, all the way from wings, burgers, steaks, seafood, cajun food, soul food,” Wilder said.

He has been seasoning meats like brisket in Appleton for six years. Wilder said the road to success hasn’t always been easy.

“The first two years we were here, there was construction out front so no one could get here. Then there was the diamond interchange on I-441, so people couldn’t get here, and then right after that, we had COVID,” Wilder said.

Despite these struggles, Wilder said his family’s history helps him push forward and Juneteenth is a time to reflect on those painful roots in Mississippi.

“My grandparents are a couple of generations removed from slavery,” Wilder said.

A portrait of his grandparents, Laura and Jesse Wilder, hangs inside his restaurant. Wilder said they’re a reminder of the segregation and racism of the deep South that shadowed his family.

“Laura and Jesse Wilder moved to Wisconsin from Mississippi. Mississippi was definitely a very tough place to live as an African American, even as recently as when I was a kid and I would go there and visit. There were places there where you knew you just needed to keep going ‘till you got to the next town,” Wilder said.

Judy Odle is Wilder’s fiancé. She said decades ago, it would have been very difficult for them to marry and combine families.

Odle said Juneteenth helped her to understand some of the struggles in the Black community.

“I’ve learned so many things about our blended family, things that I was somewhat naive to and much more aware of. We have a lot of conversations with our kids about Martin Luther King Jr. and conversations about slavery,” Odle said.

Wilder said his food is time-honored and made with recipes from his grandparents. He said he’s thankful to turn his family’s past into a Fox Valley business.

“Juneteenth lets me know anything is possible, and to never give up and keep fighting,” Wilder said.