The farmer’s market crowds milled around the Capitol Square, creating a dull roar of voices that rang out over the cool, crisp morning air. The smell of dough, cheese and breakfast wafted all around the top of State Street.
A line of 10 people gathered outside the source of the smell — a small restaurant at the very tip of State Street. Only one group of customers fit in the tiny shop at a time. As they approached the counter, they were greeted by a smiling face and a cheery welcome.
“Yo, yo!”
Madison native Anthony Rineer opened Teddywedgers 10 years ago. But, unlike many business owners, he runs the front end of the business several days a week.
Rineer is passionate about being involved in the Madison community. Though being a part of the community has always been important to him, making it through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic made him even more committed to building and strengthening relationships.
“I think in this era of the United States we’re all incredibly isolated, especially after COVID,” Rineer said. “So, when I get to be a part of a community and I can branch people together, it feels really rewarding. Because I think we all crave that right now.”
Each person who enters the small shop earns a warm interaction with Rineer while he expertly wraps their delectable, warm pasty in a bed of tin foil and places it into a paper bag.
He knows his customers. He asks about their days, their families, their jobs — the list goes on. During this small interaction, he manages to fit what seems to be a 20-minute catch-up into an average of 15 seconds.
But, to wrap up every interaction, Rineer says just a few words.
“Did you want any hot sauce? Ketchup?”
And with that, each customer moves on to the next task in their day with a newfound smile.
Jessica Gregory goes to Teddywedgers on occasion for Rineer’s nostalgic pasties, but his friendly personality has always been a reason for her to return.
“My New Years resolution is to become friends with the guy that works at teddywedgers,” Gregory tweeted.
During her time working remotely, Gregory said the occasional trip to Teddywedgers was a highlight of her day — talking to Rineer created much-needed human interaction.
“Those friendly interactions really make Madison what it is” Gregory said. “And so Anthony being so friendly and kind and truly caring about his customers in the way that he does at Teddywedgers really adds to the Madison experience and what it means to go and eat locally in Madison.”
To prepare the perfect pastries — and the perfect Madison experience — Rineer wakes up and bikes to the restaurant to start cooking.
“I wake up really early and start cooking right away and by the time that I gain consciousness, it’s time to open and I pretty much just get to talk and be part of the community for a couple hours,” Rineer said.
When the day is done, he returns home to his partner, four dogs, three cats and a turtle.
Then, the cycle begins again.
Rineer always wanted to open a restaurant — he comes from a family of restaurateurs. Growing up on the Inner West Side of Madison, Rineer had been a customer at Teddywedgers since he was a child.
“I even applied here when I was in high school, but at the time I was not Teddywedgers material,” Rineer said with a spirited laugh.
Despite wanting to open a restaurant, Teddywedgers was a last-minute purchase for Rineer and his sister.
When Rineer found out the previous owner put the iconic local restaurant up for sale, he asked if there were any buyers. Milio’s Sandwich Shop had an offer, and Rineer said he had to make sure the restaurant survived.
“I wasn’t expecting to open Teddywedgers, it was sort of a panic purchase … but I’m happy that I got to be a part of it,” Rineer said. “So I guess the moral is: always panic purchase.”
And when Rineer’s sister moved to the Emirates, he became the sole face of Teddywedgers.
Now, Rineer has his sights set on a new endeavor. He purchased the Cardinal Bar with four other business partners with the hope of restoring the old Latin jazz bar. According to Rineer, the Cardinal Bar is another iconic Madison location — with the new venue, he hopes to continue to keep Madison’s identity alive.
If anyone can make the big city of Madison feel like a small, tight-knit community, it’s Rineer, waving at strangers and old friends through the windows of Teddywedgers.
“I feel like Anthony himself is just a Madison staple … he’s like Madison embodied in a person,” Gregory said.
