Bass Bay Brewhouse, the Muskego restaurant destroyed by fire in December, is coming back. The owners are planning to open a beer garden on the property while rebuilding the restaurant.
Owner Ryan Oschmann, whose family has owned Bass Bay Brewhouse since the 1950s, watched demolition get underway this week. He said the fire continues to impact so many.
"It has been really hard for everybody," Oschmann said wiping away tears. "I don't think anybody truly grasped the reach.”
Oschmann said he had no idea how beloved Bass Bay Brewhouse truly was until the fire.
“People that had weddings that took place in the 60s that had birthdays throughout the years whose granddaughter now got married here five years ago. It's really special," Oschmann said.
Because demolition only started this week, Oschmann knew a full rebuild would not be finished this year. That led to the idea of opening a beer garden on the largely untouched grounds of Bass Bay.
"We were blessed by the way the wind was blowing that day. The gazebo, the outside bar area, the outside grounds are 100 percent intact," Oschmann said.
Muskego recently approved a liquor license and a beer garden that can host up to 500 people. Oschmann said they are now just weeks away from submitting plans for the restaurant rebuild, which should get underway later this summer as the beer garden opens.
"I think everyone is ready to move on to the next step. As far as the beer garden is concerned, it is just something to be excited about now. We are very much looking forward to rebuilding," Oschmann said.
No official opening date has been set for the beer garden, but the plan is for an early June opening.
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