The iconic Brown Bottle restaurant, located at 221 W. Galena St. in Schlitz Park, is turning 80 this year. To celebrate, the historic tavern and restaurant will host a grand 80th anniversary party.
The celebration begins on Friday, Aug. 17 with a special happy hour celebration from 3 and 6 p.m., during which guests will enjoy a selection of free appetizers along with displays of historical items and memorabilia that showcase the pub’s early years as a gathering place for visitors to the former Schlitz Brewery. The first 100 guests will also receive a commemorative anniversary t-shirt.
Can’t make it on Friday? The happy hour fun continues Aug. 20-24 with daily happy hour specials and giveaways, including free commemorative bottle openers, free Schlitz beers and free bar snacks. Daily offerings will be featured on both The Brown Bottle website and Facebook page.
Founded in 1938, the historic restaurant began as a tasting room for Schlitz Brewery visitors to enjoy a cold one after their tour of the brewery. In 1982, when Stroh Brewing purchased Schlitz, the venue reopened as a tavern and restaurant called Brown Bottle, which served customers for over 20 years.
Between 2004 and 2012, the tavern was rebranded as Libiamo, an Italian restaurant. But in 2014, it was reclaimed and brought back to life as part of Schlitz Park’s Stock-House renovation.
The current pub and restaurant – truly one of the city’s hidden gems – honors both the the tavern’s rich history with a menu that hearkens back to the Old World while offering guests a modern, comfortable atmosphere just a skip away from Downtown.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
