Two new local restaurants have been proposed to become a part of the 84South project in Greenfield

Bob Dohr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·4 min read
A rendering shows what The Lokal would look like upon completion. Cobalt Partners is teaming with The Lowlands Group on the project, which would bring a Café Hollander (at right) and The Feisty Loon to the northwest corner of West Layton Avenue and South 84th Street in Greenfield. The two restaurants would be separated by a common outdoor event space.

A pair of restaurants, each with its own vibe and separated by a common outdoor event space, are being proposed for a key location in Greenfield.

Cobalt Partners is teaming with The Lowlands Group on The Lokal, a project which would bring a Café Hollander and The Feisty Loon to the northwest corner of West Layton Avenue and South 84th Street as part of the 84South development.

The Greenfield Plan Commission reviewed a conceptual plan for the development Aug. 9. Because planning is in the early stages, no vote was taken, but commissioners' feedback was positive.

"From the inception of 84South, we have always intended for this corner to be the "crowning jewel" of the development," Cobalt Partners president/CEO Scott Yauch said in an email. "Despite regular inquiries from national chain restaurants, we have held out for the right "local" concept, and this is as good as it gets in terms of brand, design, and operations."

A previous plan for a coffee shop and brewery at the location fell through

A 2021 plan that would have brought a brewery and a coffee shop to the same location did not materialize because suitable tenants weren't found.

With the current proposal, that hurdle has already been cleared.

The Lowlands Group operates numerous restaurants in the Milwaukee area. If the city signs off on the plan, the Greenfield Café Hollander would be the company's sixth Café Hollander.

A rendering shows what The Lokal would look like upon completion. Cobalt Partners is teaming with The Lowlands Group on the project, which would bring a Café Hollander (at right) and The Feisty Loon to the northwest corner of West Layton Avenue and South 84th Street in Greenfield. The two restaurants would be separated by a common outdoor event space.

The Café Hollander would be the eastern-most building on the parcel, on the corner of 84th and Layton, and would have an "Amsterdam" or "canal house" feel, Matt Frydach of The Kubala Washatko Architects told the plan commission.

The Feisty Loon to be a 'younger, more fun cousin' of Buckatabon

The building to the west would be The Feisty Loon, a new concept Lowlands is developing, Lowlands owner and CEO Eric Wagner said Aug. 9.

"It's sort of a younger, more fun cousin of Buckatabon, which is our supper club concept in Wauwatosa," Wagner said.

Wagner said the Feisty Loon building, which would have a mid-century modern look, is being designed to take advantage of light at different times of the day.

"We're trying to get a lot of natural light in there during the day and in the morning, and that's why we're not doing a Buckatabon, because we want this to be a big brunch spot, a big lunch spot," he said.  "And then when the sun ends up in the west ... that part of the building is a lot more quiet from a window perspective. So we want that real cozy feeling that happens at night."

Plans call for the central outdoor event space to include a patio, outdoor seating for each of the restaurants, outdoor stage, water feature and a bar.

Activities there are expected to include live music, bean bag toss, croquet and other seasonal programming, Yauck said.

Café Hollander menu would be consistent with current Hollander menus

Wagner said the Hollander menu would be consistent with the Hollander's existing menus.

The Feisty Loon will have some supper club aspects, he said, but also will incorporate other elements.

"I mean, we're going to do prime rib, we're going to do some of those more high-end things, but we also want it to be a place where people are comfortable coming in in jeans and a T-shirt and ordering a burger and coming more than for special occasions," Wagner said.

Yack said they're hoping to have the Café Hollander open by December 2023, The Feisty Loon by February or March 2024, and the beer garden by May 2024.

Yauck said he thinks they've hit on a winning concept.

"We couldn’t be more excited about how the combined buildings and outdoor green (space) will function as an asset to not only 84South, but to the city and surrounding southwestern communities as well," he said.

Cobalt is working on putting together plans for an official plan commission review, which would likely happen in October or November, Greenfield Community Development Manager Kristi Porter said.

After that, the proposal would go before the common council for final approval.

Contact Bob Dohr at 262-361-9140 or bob.dohr@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BobDohr1.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 2 new Lowlands Group restaurants proposed for the Lokal in Greenfield