businessman

by Eddie Morales from https://www.jsonline.com The owner of Cedarburg’s Wayne’s Drive-In and a Harley Davidson dealer in Thiensville is remembered as the community’s unsung hero. When Wayne Houpt achieved his goal of becoming a business owner with Wayne’s Auto Body in 1962, it was just the beginning of the many accolades he would earn and lives that he would touch. Houpt, born Oct. 1, 1938, was a family man and owner of several North Shore businesses for nearly 60 years. He died March 28 due to heart failure. The Famous Wheeler Dealer Houpt met his wife and business partner, Joan, during their senior year in high school. The pair were together for 59 years. He started his entrepreneurial career with Wayne’s Auto Body in Saukville. Houpt expanded the business with a used car lot and moved the shop to Grafton, where he opened Suburban Motors of Grafton Inc. In 1975, Houpt added Harley-Davidson motorcycles to his inventory and in 1985, he moved Suburban Motors to its current location, 139 N. Main St., Thiensville. That’s when Houpt earned the moniker “The Famous Wheeler Dealer.” He was known for accepting trades like cows, dental service and boats from customers who were a bit short on cash. Houpt’s daughter, Sandy Rath, said she remembers her father taking the family to various burger restaurants when she was a kid. Rath would later realize Houpt was taste testing the food in anticipation of opening his own restaurant one day. Houpt opened Wayne’s Drive-In in 1998, at 1331 Covered Bridge Road, Cedarburg. Rath said when the drive-in first opened, Houpt would eat there all the time. “He would go to Wayne’s the minute it opened,” she said. “He was like a kid in a candy shop. He loved that drive-in. He loved going there, and he […]