By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Feb 02, 2010 at 10:10 AM

Trocadero will close its doors following a weekend of special Valentine’s Day-themed events to undergo a major renovation. The restaurant, known for its outdoor dining and weekend brunches, will reopen sometime later this spring.

"We’ve been realizing its just time to utilize the space better and to give the place the love it really needs," co-owner Michael Eitel says.  "This little café has seen a massive amount of traffic, multiple changes, and a fair amount of abuse over the last decade. We realized that doing a spring tune up was just not quite enough."

Eitel and Eric Wagner -- the duo behind the Diablos Rojos Restaurant Group -- say they plan to reopen Trocadero as quickly as possible, but they estimate the work will take several weeks. 

"Once we really started looking at what the space needed to have done, we realized it's basically like opening a whole new restaurant," says Eitel.  "We see this as a major opportunity to get ready for the next 10 years." 

Trocadero will host a number of events before it closes, including a fundraiser for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin on Thursday, Feb. 11. Also featured is a weekend-long Valentine’s Menu and a special "Valentine’s Brunch" on Sunday, Feb. 14.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.