The co-owner of a Door County, Wisconsin, bar and grill, who is also a Sister Bay village trustee, is accused of burning a bartender’s Charlie Kirk sweatshirt in front of other staffers because he believes Kirk was a “bigot” and “racist,” Wisconsin Right Now has confirmed.
The man who allegedly burned the sweatshirt is Trustee and Husby’s Food and Spirits co-owner Chad Kodanko, Wisconsin Right Now has confirmed with multiple sources. Kodanko is also a trustee on the Sister Bay Village Board.
Now the local Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident, a retired cop and ATF agent is raising concerns about it to the Village Board, news of the incident has spread like “wildfire” through the Wisconsin County (although it’s reported first here), and another Husby’s co-owner is declaring the December 12 incident “regrettable.” The bartender, Robert Meredith, declined to comment, but a source told Wisconsin Right Now that the incident has caused him distress because some co-workers treated it like an “inside joke” and were “laughing about it,” and he needs the job.
We received two text messages in which Kodanko discusses the incident; we did not get them from the bartender.
The public has rallied recently around employees at other establishments who have been targeted for wearing Charlie Kirk shirts throughout the U.S., most notably “Jeanie from Target.”
Update: The day after our story ran, and after Kodanko and the establishment received criticism (and some support) on social media, Kodanko posted this message on Facebook:
There is already a Give Send Go to help Meredith, the bartender. It was created by a member of the Winnebago County GOP and Moms for Liberty.
Husby’s Food and Spirits describes itself as “an iconic Door County watering hole. Outdoor patio + Garage Bar + Filling Station frozen cocktails.”
We have confirmed that a report was filed with the Door County Sheriff’s Department about the incident. The Sheriff’s Department’s records clerk said on December 26 that it won’t be available until after January 1 because “an investigation is ongoing.”
The incident came to the attention of Wisconsin Right Now because of a letter a retired police officer and ATF agent wrote to the Sister Bay Village Board complaining about it. We have obtained that letter.
That man, Paul Kwiatkowski, was a detective with the metro Nashville Police Department, and he’s lived in Door County for about six years since retiring.
“I got a number of calls about this from a lot of people. I was really surprised, and it wasn’t just people on the conservative side. It went through this county like wildfire,” he said of the incident. In the letter, he wrote that Door County has become “politically toxic.” He added in the letter, “I’m confident that the Sister Bay Village Board will take appropriate steps to address this concerning allegation.”
Who Is Chad Kodanko?
The Sister Bay website says that Kodanko was initially elected in 2017, chose not to run in 2023, and then was re-elected to the public position again in April 2025. Door County is a popular tourist destination located along Lake Michigan in northeastern Wisconsin. It’s known as one of the nation’s presidential bellwether counties, but it is also a divided community, going to Kamala Harris by fewer than 500 votes.
Here is the sweatshirt that was allegedly burned. It has the name “Charlie Kirk” on it, along with an American flag and the word “freedom.”
An election profile on Kodanko in the local newspaper, the Door County Pulse, described Kodanko as “self-employed (part owner of Husby’s and Door County Property Management). He has a BS in Finance from the University of South Florida, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.” In that profile, Kodanko stressed he wanted to create “a positive relationship between ‘the village’ and its residents and other community members in Door County.”
The bar has good reviews online. “We love the vibe and the clever way the place donates to charities. Friendly host. Smiley and attentive server. Good experience. Big place. Good for families,” read one.
What Happened?
A source with direct knowledge of the incident told Wisconsin Right Now in an interview that the incident became an “inside joke” at the bar and grill. The bartender didn’t wear the sweatshirt while working, the source said; rather, he wore it to work and then hung it up on a staff clothes rack and switched into a work shirt. The bartender left the Kirk sweatshirt hanging at the bar and grill when he left work that day, and word soon spread that Kodanko had burned it in front of other employees.
This source believed the burning incident occurred “either behind or in front of” the bar and that there may have been video of it. Kodanko made it clear that he was burning the shirt because he considers Kirk a racist and bigot, found the shirt “offensive,” and dislikes Kirk’s views, according to the source. Although he later apologized to the employee, he also stated that he wasn’t sorry for the message he sent to the staff.
The incident occurred after Kirk was assassinated while speaking on a college campus. The source did not want their name used for fear of retaliation, but WRN confirmed that the source is in a position to know this information.
According to this source, the bartender isn’t considered very political but liked Kirk’s style of peaceful debate and considered him someone “who did not deserve to die for speaking his mind.”
Kodanko did not return a phone call, text message, and email seeking comment.
A Husby’s Co-Owner Calls the Incident ‘Regrettable’
James Larsen, who is another of the owners at Husby’s, called the incident, which he had nothing to do with, a “regrettable act” in an interview with Wisconsin Right Now. He wanted the public to know that the alleged actions of Kodanko do not reflect all of the owners’ views or the establishment as a whole, adding, “We have four owners here.”
Husby’s was previously touted in a news story for being “well known for their ceiling filled with dollar bills. A tradition that annually gives back to the Door County community. For 12 years now, Husby’s has donated the money to local food pantries, Shop With a Cop in Sturgeon Bay, local Little Leagues, and plenty more.”
“We obviously had a meeting about this,” Larsen said, adding, “It’s not everyone at our business. Chad apologized to the employee when he realized what he did was wrong. He obviously regrets it as well.” He said that Kodanko wasn’t working when the Charlie Kirk shirt burning incident happened but was “here as a customer,” although he confirmed that Kodanko is a co-owner. Beyond that, he didn’t want to share details.
“This was not a representation of our business,” Larsen said. “This was an individual. He doesn’t work at our business, although he is an owner of our business. We respect everyone’s viewpoints. We are a bar. We don’t want to be on either side of the spectrum. Now we’re in a bad spot.”
He said he didn’t believe the incident happened on the bar’s property. Asked whether he disputes the accusation that Kondanko burned the employee’s Charlie Kirk sweatshirt in front of other co-workers, he said he didn’t want to discuss specifics. Larsen agreed that political tensions are growing in Door County, but he said that’s true of the country, adding that “the government” also puts out strong rhetoric.
A Retired Cop Raises Concern
Kwiatkowski, the retired cop and ATF agent who exposed the incident in a letter to the Sister Bay Village Board, said that he believed authorities should consider whether a “hate crime enhancement” would apply in this case. “This may or may not fit this particular criteria, but at the very least, it needs to be looked into,” he said.
Kwiatowski noted that political tensions are growing in Door County. He said that it “used to be that no one cared when you went to the supper club or the beach what your politics were.” He realized there “was a problem” and things had changed when “Packer fans were getting uninvited from Packer parties due to their political affiliation.”
Kwiatowski believes political tensions “need to be tamped down,” although he adds that he hates to see “businesses hit with boycotts. I don’t think that solves anything.”
According to Kwiatkowski, who used to work arson scenes for the ATF, “fire is a very powerful” symbol. He criticized the political violence in the country, including the assassination of Charlie Kirk. “If what is being reported actually happened with a shirt like this, particularly a Charlie Kirk shirt, literally weeks after he was assassinated, that’s a very serious issue,” he said.
“Sister Bay is all about unity and inclusion,” he added. “That would be for all sides, I would think.” He added that conservatives “up here are not very vocal,” but there are many.
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