Following its inaugural Stella’s Toy Drive in 2023, Lowlands Group is expanding partnerships with local businesses and community groups to donate 2,000 toys to children and families in need this holiday season
Stella’s Toy Drive will take place Friday, Nov. 15 through Sunday, Dec. 15 with toy collection boxes located at all seven Lowlands Milwaukee-area Lowlands restaurants as well as local businesses in and around the Village of Wauwatosa.
Guests who donate to a Stella’s Toy Drive box will receive a coupon for free hot cocoa and cookie, redeemable the night of the Wauwatosa Holiday Train, Sunday, Dec. 8, from 3 to 6 p.m., while supplies last. Toy donations will also be accepted the day of the event.
The toy drive was inspired by six-month-old Stella Mae Polster, the beloved daughter of Tracy Broekman—a dedicated member of the Lowlands Group team— who passed away in 2017. In memory of Stella and to support other families seeking care and support from both Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House, Lowlands Group is proud to collaborate with Kapco’s Kids2Kids Toy Drive, extending the reach of Stella’s Toy Drive to benefit even more local organizations.
“We were so fortunate to live in Wisconsin and be able to travel to and from Children’s,” says Tracy Broekman, Stella’s mother. “I kept thinking about every family that is not as lucky and the difference that Ronald McDonald House makes to hundreds of families during the holidays and every day. It's so important that we support our local charities like RMHC so families can focus on what really matters, which is being together during the holiday season.”
Participants include:
- BB’s on North
- Be Spectacled
- BelAir Cantina
- Buckatabon Tavern & Supper Club
- Café Benelux
- Café Hollander – Brookfield
- Café Hollander – Downer Ave
- Café Hollander – Mequon
- Café Hollander – Wauwatosa
- Centraal Grand Café & Tappery
- Cranky Al’s
- Donges Bay Elementary
- Drunken Cobra
- Gigi’s Play House – Fox Point
- Growler’s East Tosa
- Honeycomb Salon – Whitefish Bay
- Leff’s Lucky Town
- Shop Privy
- The Flannel Fox
- The Village Cheese Shop
- THREE SIXTY
- Vendetta Coffee Bar
For more information on Stella’s Toy Drive visit www.lowlandsgroup.com/thelowdown.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
