Old Town Inn, formerly Jerry's, now open in Germantown



GERMANTOWN (WITI) -- An old gem is back in Germantown! The Old Town Inn is set to bring new life to Main Street, and its grand opening celebration is just days away.

Set with the ambiance of a warm brick fireplace, wood flooring and rich architecture, Old Town Inn still embodies a historical feel.

"There's a lot of old world features. It was famous in southeastern Wisconsin for a long time as Jerry's Old Town Inn," owner Chaz Hastings said.

Hastings and his team brought the popular property after it closed about a year-and-a-half ago, so it could be gutted and revamped.

"We realized we needed to remodel the entire property which includes Von Rothenburg Bier Stube next door and added a beer garden," Hastings said.

It was all in an effort to revitalize the community.

"It helps to support that and gives a destination for people to come to. It was once a destination and it`s nice to have it come back again as a destination to this degree," Germantown Village President Dean Wolters said.

Wolters says it will help bring the area back to life while answering residents' needs.

"What we hear time and time again is we need more sit down restaurants, more family-oriented ones -- something that we can go to outside of the normal chains," Wolters said.

It seems what folks in Germantown are looking for is a little nostalgia with a modern twist, which is also evident in the menu.

"The building has been here since 1850, so over the years there have been recipes that have come in and out of here. At one point in time in the 30s it was called the Siegel Hotel, so to honor that tradition, what they used to do is they had duck and chicken dinners on a nightly basis so they will do that," Josh Neureuther, the general manager of the Old Town Inn said.

Of course, they're selling the traditional mouthwatering ribs and french onion soup that made them famous, as this iconic place is redeveloped to bring savory food and the pulse back once again.

"To get this back on the map, to get people back on Main Street, to get business going on Main Street -- that's what we are looking for," Neureuther said.

The grand opening celebration is planned for Tuesday, February 11th. The bar opens at 3:00 p.m., and dinner seating begins at 4:00 p.m.

The restaurant opened to the public on Friday, February 7th.

CLICK HERE to visit Old Town Inn's website.

CLICK HERE to visit Old Town Inn's Facebook page.