| John S. Selensky was a well-known restaurateur throughout the city of Milwaukee. He learned to cook in the service and in the 1950’s he and his brothers opened Selen’s House of Prime Rib in Cudahy.
They received a great deal of attention in the 1960’s and 1970’s by buying grand champion steers at the Wisconsin State Fair and displaying them in a pen in their restaurant before offering the beef on the menu.
Many members of the family worked in the restaurant at on time or another. When one of his brothers wanted to retire, they sold the restaurant. At that point, John and his wife Judith opened another restaurant; Pauper John’s on Howell Ave. across form Mitchell Field.
John retired for the first time and sold the Pauper John’s; but boredom set in and they bought another restaurant in West Allis and renamed it Selensky’s Prime Rib. After retiring a second time, John and Judy thought they were done with the restaurant business. However, after their daughter Karen graduated from The Culinary Institute of America, John again got the urge to run a restaurant with his daughter and her husband John Koltisko, also a graduate of the institute.
Together, the opened the Grand Champion Grille in Greenfield. The tradition of fine dining continued when the Milwaukee Journal’s food critic picked the Grand Champion Grille as one of the top eating places in Milwaukee. Another tradition continued when the Grand Champion purchased the Waukesha County Fair’s grand champion steer.
John Selensky carried on a dedication to the finest in dining in a city known for it’s fine restaurants. Mr. Selensky is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
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