By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published May 14, 2019 at 12:01 PM

The Village of Wauwatosa will soon have its very own beer garden.

That’s thanks to plans announced today by the Lowlands Group to roll out a newly expanded patio beer garden overlooking the Menomonee River.

Scheduled to open in early June, the Tosa Village Beer Garden will be located on the pedestrian bridge just behind Cafe Hollander and Cafe Bavaria. Construction on the new seating area – which will be larger and offer much-improved views of the river – is currently underway, with completion expected by early June.

The beer garden will be separate from Café Bavaria and Cafe Hollander, both of which will continue to offer full-service outdoor dining on their respective patios.

"The goal was to create a different kind of experience for the Village that wasn’t traditional outdoor dining," noted Dan Herwig, director of brand and marketing at Lowlands Group. "There’s so much energy and traffic since the completion of the streetscaping initiative that we wanted to create a place where you could grab a quick drink and snack, or spend a sunny afternoon just enjoying the village."

The Tosa Village Beer Garden will offer casual counter service, as well as large, communal beer garden tables at which guests will be invited to enjoy a variety of drinks including international and domestic craft beers on draft, as well as wine and cocktails. Food options provided by adjacent Cafe Bavaria will include sausages and hotdogs, along with snacks like pretzels and fried cheese curds. Food options from the adjacent Café Bavaria will be offered including sausages and hot dogs as well as snacks such as pretzels and fried cheese curds.

The Tosa Beer Garden will complement the extensive multi-year streetscaping project that has transformed Wauwatosa’s historic village district.

A firm opening date has not been set for the Tosa Beer Garden; however, provided construction is timely, the beer garden is expected to be operational in early June.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

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 each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, 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.