ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU) – One legendary spot on the outskirts of South Bend is celebrating a huge milestone: Bob\u2019s 19th Hole has officially been in business for 50 years.<\/p>\n
You could say the secret is in the sauce \u2014 but generations of owners and customers say the success is built on community, friendliness and keeping the same recipes from the very beginning. <\/p>\n
Vickie Schroeder, one of the original owners alongside her late husband Bob, said the foundation of that run comes down to one thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to like the business, that\u2019s one thing,\u201d Vickie said. \u201cWe worked a lot of hours. Put the kids through college and they both went for food business.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those kids is Richard Schroeder, who took over as owner in 1991.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was here I was very hands on,\u201d Richard said. \u201cThe soup recipes they still use today are my mom\u2019s recipes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard said those recipes have kept customers returning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have great customers that have been here forever,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n
For Jeff Williams, \u201cforever\u201d may be a stretch \u2014 but 23 years is close.<\/p>\n
\u201cTenderloin day is Thursday,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThat\u2019s when they have their tenderloin special. It\u2019s what I come for almost every week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams, who also runs a family-owned business, said the milestone is significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI run a family owned business as well. And they just don\u2019t last. It\u2019s tough,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all been family \u2014 the third generation of owners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, that third generation is led by Sara Butler, who has worked nearly every role in the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started here dishwashing, I went to serving, then hosting and now owning,\u201d Butler said. \u201cSo I\u2019ve kind of played every role here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Bob isn\u2019t around to celebrate with Vickie, she said it is hard to put into words what this legacy means to their family.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d be proud as a peacock,\u201d she said. \u201cHe would. He\u2019d think the kids did a great job. And they have.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that legacy may still be growing. Butler said her 14-year-old son works at Bob\u2019s 19th Hole as a dishwasher. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s too soon to say whether the family business will stretch into a fourth generation. But for a place built on tradition, it\u2019s a fitting sign of what 50 years can create.<\/p>\n
Stay up to date on local news with WNDU<\/a> on-air and online. Be sure to download the 16 News Now App<\/a> and follow our YouTube<\/a> page as we continue to bring you the latest news coverage.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WNDU. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU) – One legendary spot on the outskirts of South Bend is celebrating a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":951110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[47],"tags":[382847,382851,382848,382849,1430,382852,382850,62,67,132,68,42036],"class_list":["post-951109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-bobs-19th-hole","tag-bobs-19th-hole-50-years","tag-bobs-19th-hole-south-bend","tag-bobs-19th-hole-st-joseph-county","tag-golf","tag-south-bend-local-restaurant-anniversary","tag-south-bend-restaurant-50-years","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wndu"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116961718054112006","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}