Tosa Beer Garden Gets a Nod, But for Shorter Hours

A summer beer garden outside Tosa Pool in Hoyt Park got the approval of the Plan Commission on Monday night, but with slightly amended hours of operation.

In a unanimous if somewhat hesitant vote, commissioners also recommended a review of the beer garden 90 days after its opening this summer, expected in July.

The Tosa Pool board and administration, which would operate the beer garden, had asked to be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Based on the hours of the pool – which has open swimming until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays – the commission recommended the opening of the beer garden be delayed until 4 p.m.

The Hoyt Park beer garden is modeled on the success of the Milwaukee County Parks' first year of operation of the Estabrook Park Beer Garden in Shorewood, a partnership with the Old German Beer Hall in downtown Milwaukee.

The Estabrook garden returned $65,000 to Milwaukee County in 2012 on a 20 percent cut of beer sales and 10 percent of soft drink sales. The remaining revenue, after operating expenses, went to the operator. A final split on revenues at Hoyt has not yet been negotiated with the Parks Department.

The Tosa Pool board is looking to profit similarly, but already with considerably shorter hours than Estabrook, which was open from noon to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Concerns about overlapping hours with pool

The plan to open the Hoyt garden later, at 3 p.m., and for two fewer weekdays, was in cognizance that there could be some congestion and a perception of conflicting values with the pool being a magnet for children and the beer garden attracting a drinking crowd.

But a few citizens and some commissioners still saw a problem with overlapping hours between 3 and 4:30 p.m., when small children would still be at the pool.

"Obviously, an hour less means less revenue," said Tosa Pool spokeswoman Mary Pluta. "We'll have to go back and look at our pro forma and business plan and see what it might mean. It's too soon to tell."

The pool's management wants to develop the beer garden as an additional revenue stream to help maintain and add amenities to the pool and build its reserves. It also adopted as part of its mission to be a steward and advocate for all of Hoyt Park, and sees the Estabrook garden as a shining example of how to get people out into the parks.

Neighbors and commissioners raised not only moral questions about mixing a children's recreation magnet with a venue serving alcohol, but also worries about noise, parking and "rowdyism and vandalism," in the words of resident Robert Griffin.

No problems reported at Estabrook

Estabrook had no calls for service to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office or Shorewood police last year, pool staff assured the commission.

There was not even any minor vandalism or theft, said Ald. Jill Organ, who is also lead planning engineer for the Parks Department.

"They had strings of lights they left out overnight," Organ said, "and they were never bothered at all. And that's really something compared to the things that happen to a lot of our buildings."

Organ also assured the commission that the Hoyt beer garden plan has the enthusiastic support of the Parks Department.

The commission sought to assuage worries about noise by adding the words "not to be heard off-site" to the request for slightly amplified live music from 4 to 8 p.m. two nights a week.

The 90-day review amendment clause could also be problematic for Friends of Hoyt Park and Pool, as the group would make a significant investment in installing the beer garden, perhaps only to see it further constricted in operation or shut down all together if it shouldn't pass muster.

New infrastructure, though, would not involve deep footing or utility installations, said Eric Harrmann of AG Architecture, which designed the facility, and it could be easily removed.