Whistle Binkies on the Lake is teeing up another spot – Binks on the Links – at Northern Hills Golf Course – Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER – Eric and Kelly Amundson,

the owners of Whistle Binkies on the Lake

, are teeing up a new place on Rochester’s Northern Hills Golf Course called Binks on the Links.

The Amundsons are stepping into the bar and restaurant space at 4721 W Circle Dr., where Erik Karow operated Northern Nineteen Bar & Grill for nine years. He ended Northern Nineteen in January to spend more time working on other business projects, including his

Huxden Syrups cocktail mixes

.

When Karow approached the Amundsons about taking over, they mulled it over for a while and considered how busy they are at Whistle Binkies on the Lake. In the end, the decision was an easy putt.

“We have the best staff that allows us to be able to do this. They have been an amazing help,” said Kelly Amundson. “We both love golf. This is our home golf course, so it was really fitting. Plus Whistle Binkies on the Lake was owned by Randy and Connie (Lehman) for about 17 years

before we took o

ver.

So it is fun to kind of expand with a place that is all ours.”

When the Amundsons bought Whistle Binkies on the Lake from the Lehmans in 2021,

another local group purchased

the original Whistle Binkies at 3120 Wellner Drive N.E.

They hope to open to the public soon, possibly as early as Monday or Tuesday. If the warm weather holds, the Northern Hills course is also expected to open soon.

While Binks on the Links will have a smaller menu, it will serve up many Whistle Binkies favorites as well as the full bar service. The plan is to be open seven days a week with a dining area that seats 107 plus a full patio overlooking the green of the 18th hole.

This means Whistle Binkies fans will have third spot in Rochester to get their fix. And they won’t even need to have a set of golf clubs to do it.

“We want to serve the golfers, but we also want to serve all the people that live around here and all the nearby businesses. You don’t have to golf to come out and eat,” said Eric Amundson.

The Amundsons plan to score how things go at Binks on the Links this summer and then decide if they will remain open during the winter.

While the bar and restaurant are their creations, they do credit their friend Cass Wierschem with the name of Binks on the Links.

“When we said we had this opportunity, he said right away that we had to name it Binks on the Links and it just kind of stuck,” said Kelly Amundson.