After making a series of renovations, this 174-year-old restaurant in Nashotah has reopened for business
With a series of renovations and a new menu, Red Circle Inn, a 174-year-old restaurant in Nashotah, will bring a cozy vibe "paying homage to history" with a few updates.
It is now reopened and ready for business. The restaurant, one of the oldest in Wisconsin, temporarily closed in September after its previous owners, Norm and Martha Eckstaedt, decided to sell it.
The restaurant, N44 W33013 Watertown Plank Road, will boast an "updated décor, improved banquet and private event spaces and a new, delectable menu," according to a news release.
Dennis Fenrick, area director for Geronimo Hospitality Group, which now oversees Red Circle Inn, told the Journal Sentinel that a lot of the building is still original, but patrons will notice the addition of plenty of historic photographs of Pabst Brewing Company, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Braves.
Fenrick said that Geronimo's designer, Sue Griffen, spent months going through vintage photographs and finding what she could at vintage stores.
He said that the original bar, from the early 1990s is refurbished in the banquet room. The banquet room is updated with new carpeting, the bar layouts changed to add more flow and that the light fixtures are updated.
"We kept the hardwood floors," Fenrick added. He also said the restaurant will feature its large historic fireplace.
The Red Circle Inn's menu will include new dishes and old favorites
Joe Heppe, who also oversees operations of the kitchen inside of Delafield Hotel, will be leading the Red Circle Inn kitchen as executive chef, according to the release.
The menu for the Red Circle Inn was updated. One of updates that Fenrick said should be popular is the Skate Schnitzel, which he calls "a new twist on the Wisconsin fish fry." He described it as a "delicate light fish, lightly breaded and panfryed." He said it will be served with a special tarter and fennel-citrus slaw.
According to the menu, there are also the reimagined classics that include pan seared walleye, beef stroganoff and roasted half chicken.
There is a new wine and cocktail menu as well, which includes a blend of Wisconsin wines and local products.
Some of its bottled wines are the Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne and the Taittinger, Comtes deChampagne Rose, both from France."I am more excited about our cocktail menu, featuring an all-Wisconsin brand liquor," Fenrick said. He added that the dessert items are new and include frozen cocktails.
Red Circle Inn is one of Wisconsin's oldest restaurants
According to the Red Circle Inn website, the establishment was opened in 1848 soon after Wisconsin became the 30th state. It was opened to specifically welcome traders, trappers and stagecoaches who were heading from Milwaukee out west to Watertown.
After switching owners a few times, Fred Pabst bought it and named it Red Circle Inn after his Pabst Brewing Company, which had a red circle in its logo.
When he later sold it to Steven and Hulda Polaski, the former household chef of the Pabsts', it became known for its steaks, seafood and porkchops. In 1976, Aat Groenevelt, owner and founder of Provimi Veal, bought the restaurant to showcase his veal products. In 1993, Martha and Norm Eckstaedt bought the restaurant and it became a destination for special occasions, weddings and parties.
Geronimo Hospitality Group also owns and operates Delafield Hotel, the kitchen inside of it and Blue Collar Coffee Co. in Delafield.
When is the Red Circle Inn open?
Red Circle Inn is open from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Friday and Saturday. The bar is open from 4 p.m. to close.
To make a reservation and for more information
To make a reservation or for more information on Red Circle Inn, visit www.redcircleinn.com.
Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Red Circle Inn, one of Wisconsin's oldest restaurants, has reopened
