Robin Robertson, owner/operator of Rockin’ Robins, opened her diner-style restaurant in February to fulfill her lifelong dream of owning her own restaurant business.

Whistle a tune and grab a spoon, because a new, musically-themed diner has opened on Winnebago’s Main Street.

Rockin’ Robins, which held its soft opening on Feb. 15, is owned and operated by area resident Robin Robertson, with the assistance of one additional employee and Robertson’s husband, Scott.

It was Scott who encouraged Robertson to start her own business in the first place. Though Robertson is a veteran of the food service industry, this is her first stab at business ownership.

After raising her four children, Robertson, who likes to keep busy, applied to work at the Blue Earth Dairy Queen in 1994 – a job which she enjoyed for its fast-paced work environment. She started as a fry cook before becoming a cake decorator. She was promoted as the establishment’s manager in 2018.

In 2021, however, Robertson was ready to try something different.

“After I married Scott, I told him I always wanted to own my own restaurant,” Robertson explains. “He was a big help. We did a lot of stuff here. It was fun, but I don’t think I ever would have done this if he hadn’t given me a push.”

The pair dedicated a lot of elbow grease toward preparing Rockin’ Robins for its public debut.

In some aspects, the building was already primed to be a restaurant. Decades ago, it was a drug store complete with a soda fountain. More recently it has been a pizza parlor and Mexican restaurant.

“There was a little equipment in here – fryers, a cooler – that helped,” Robertson recalls.

However, she and Scott still found plenty to do by installing a new floor and a half-wall partition down the center of the seating area. The pair also coated the restaurant with fresh paint, inside and out, and put in a new furnace.

As the couple prepared Rockin’ Robins for its soft opening, a theme coalesced.

“Scott and I both love music, so we went with the music theme,” Robertson says.

Upper shelves in the Rockin’ Robins seating area are lined with vintage records and record players, all donated or borrowed from customers. Some of Robertson’s favorite albums are also framed on the walls, such as Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours.’

Robertson even has a life-size cut-out of Elvis Presley perched in the front window.

The King famously loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but the dining fare at Rockin’ Robins is a little more traditional.

“It’s just your typical café or restaurant food,” Robertson says, listing classic items such as hamburgers, chicken, onion rings, fries, salads and daily specials which appear on the menu, as well as baked goods.

Rockin’ Robins also offers Friday night specials such as steak, walleye and shrimp. Robertson adds the restaurant occasionally caters, as well.

Though Rockin’ Robins will open its doors to diners on Friday evenings, from 5 to 7 p.m., it typically aims to serve the lunchtime crowd. Its regular hours span Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

However, Robertson hopes to expand her hours soon by opening the restaurant’s doors on an additional evening each week.

Other than that, Robertson says she harbors no big plans to expand the business in the future. Rather, she views restaurant ownership as an enjoyable way to spend the years leading up to her retirement.

“I like to cook and I like to bake. I like to be busy,” Robertson says. “I’m just hoping to run (Rockin’ Robins) for a few years, then retire.” 

She and Scott feel Rockin’ Robins fills a need in Winnebago for a sit-down restaurant.

“We saw a service Winnebago needed,” Robertson explains. “Scott’s a people pleaser, and he wanted somewhere here in town to sit down and eat.” 

Apparently, the couple was right – Robertson says the restaurant has been enjoying regular success.

“We’ve been pretty steady,” Robertson says, adding, “People are grateful – we hear every day, ‘Thank you for doing this.'”