"A dining destination:" Famed Brown Bottle restaurant to reopen November 17th

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The famed "Brown Bottle" restaurant will reopen, starting with lunch and happy hour service on Monday, November 17th.

Dinner service will begin on Monday, December 1st.

Ben Hudson, most recently with Bacchus restaurant has been named executive chef.

The Brown Bottle first opened in 1938 as a meeting place for visitors at the end of brewery tours.  The restaurant, located at 221 W. Galena St. on the ground level of Schlitz Park’s recently renovated Stock-House building complex, will initially be open Monday-Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

“We want to honor Brown Bottle’s rich history by providing a nod to old world pub fare while offering a more modern style of food and atmosphere in a comfortable and convenient downtown location,” Schlitz Park President Gary Grunau said.

“Our menu will entice a wide range of customers from those looking for classic pub to Wisconsin comfort food. Special attention will be paid to locally sourced foods from Wisconsin; vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options and wholesome offerings," Hudson said.

The initial lunch and appetizer menu will include Schlitz Park Beer Nuggets featuring bite-sized beer-infused pizza dough served with a Schlitz beer cheese sauce; a Waldorf with a Twist salad consisting of seasonal apples, pears and celery tossed in a honey amaretto vinaigrette served on bib lettuce and topped with sliced almond; and Pulled Pork and Slaw with braised pork shoulder, BBQ sauce, fried onion and topped with cold slaw.

The Brown Bottle bar will also serve classic cocktails and a wide variety of wine and beer including Schlitz.  I

In addition to starting to offer dinner service in December, the Brown Bottle will be available for private social and corporate events.  In December the Brown Bottle hours expand to Mondays-Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Fridays 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Looking ahead to next spring and summer when warmer temps return, the Brown Bottle patio garden will offer full bar and food table service overlooking Schlitz Park’s new Brewhouse Square Park.

“We’re excited to introduce the Brown Bottle to a new era of guests and make it a dining destination in the Downtown and Brewers Hill areas whether to meet with colleagues or gather with friends,” Hudson said.

Hudson, a graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, most recently worked alongside such notable executive chefs as Adam Siegel and Nick Wirth from Bacchus.  In Portland, he served as head chef of the vegan restaurant and bar, the Hungry Tiger Too, and was sous Chef at Mama Mia’s Trattoria.

Schlitz Park is working with its food service partner Davíans to operate the Brown Bottle.  Davíans runs the office complex’s Schlitz Park Café in the RiverCenter and The Brew which recently opened in the Stock-House.