Lakefront's Curd Wagon is going fully gluten-free this summer

Lakefront Brewery's Curd Wagon, a food truck that sits outside the brewery during the summer, is going fully gluten-free this summer, serving cheese curds, fish fries and more.

Over the past two years the Curd Wagon would periodically serve gluten-free foods, which started with a gluten-free Maifest in May 2022 when the brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St., tapped its first gluten-free Maibock and added gluten-free food.

"That was wildly successful," Lakefront Brewery owner Russ Klisch said. "That prompted us to think, if all the people are coming down for gluten-free fare, why don't we do a gluten-free Friday night fish fry?"

Lakefront offered gluten-free Friday fish fries and cheese curds made in its Curd Wagon on a monthly basis, then weekly in 2023.

Lakefront Brewery head chef Kristin Hueneke also said it was very popular and customers said they traveled across the state to get a gluten-free fish fry.

"We couldn't believe how many people showed up. Our first gluten-free fish fry sold out in an hour and a half," she said. "We've had so many people show up and people thanking me because they haven't had a fish fry in years."

With the high demand, and out of convenience, Lakefront Brewery decided the Curd Wagon would be gluten-free for all of 2024.

"Honestly, it was a big pain in the butt to scrub it down and go between gluten-free and not gluten-free," Klisch said. "Our sales didn't drop off on Fridays. We still sold the same amount, so this next year it will all be gluten-free, and it will pair well with our gluten-free beers."

Lakefront Brewery was early to adapt a gluten-free beer with its New Grist pilsner, first brewed in 2006. It has since added various brews to its gluten-free lineup, including La Gosa-rita, which won best in the gluten-free beer category at The World Beer Cup in 2022. It recently released the gluten-free New Grist IPA.

The Curd Wagon food truck will come out of storage around Memorial Day, Klisch said, and will be on the patio every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through early fall.

Hueneke said she is still working on the menu, but it will definitely have their signature cheese curds and fish fry. She also is working to include other gluten-free menu items that are usually inaccessible to people who don't eat gluten.

Brewery tours: From Miller to Lakefront, here are 5 brewery tours to check out in Milwaukee

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lakefront's Curd Wagon will offer only gluten-free food this summer