Whitnall Park Beer Garden Opens This Week

Whitnall Park Beer Garden. Photo courtesy Milwaukee County Parks.

The Whitnall Park Beer Garden opens for the season this week.

Milwaukee County Parks is opening the popular beer garden in Greendale on Wednesday, May 1 at 4 p.m. A ceremonial first pour will be held at 5 p.m., at which time the beer garden will begin serving free beer and root beer, while supplies last.

“Milwaukee County Parks is thrilled to bring you another great season to Whitnall Beer Garden,” Milwaukee County parks Director Guy Smith said in a statement. “What a great way to bring the community back together once again at Whitnall Park.”

The beer garden briefly opened as a winter pop-up in February when Milwaukee was experiencing unseasonably warm weather.

The beer garden is one of the oldest in the county’s relatively young system of beer gardens. Only a decade ago, the parks department brought beer gardens back to Milwaukee after they disappeared during prohibition.

With 24 taps, Whitnall has the biggest beer list of the county’s seven beer gardens. Last year it sold 78,000 pints of beer and 2,800 1-liter steins of beer. And on top that, the beer garden sold 8,400 non-alcoholic beverages and 3,300 hard seltzers.

The sales last year represented a 39% hike in revenue for the beer garden, according to parks. The revenue from county beer gardens has become a significant piece of the park system’s annual budget. With limited funding, the department manages to generate more than 50% of its annual operating revenue through fees and sales at park amenities like golf courses and beer gardens.

The kite and aviation store Gift of Wings, will once again be running the food service in the beer garden. Along with traditional beer garden fare, the multifaceted local business will also be offering tacos on Tuesdays and fish fry on Fridays. It will also hold pig roasts again this summer, with the first of four scheduled for June 9.

Last year, Gift of Wings sold 2,800 soft pretzels, 3,800 cheeseburgers and hamburgers, 2,900 cheese curds, 2,400 brats, 2,200 hot dogs, 2,500 fish fry dinners and 550 roasted-pig dinners.

The beer garden will also host live music on Friday nights, Saturday afternoons and during every pig roast.

Whitnall is the latest beer garden to open for the season. The county kicked off the beer garden season on April 3 at South Shore Park, and opened the beer garden in Estabrook Park on April 26.

Local County Board Supervisor Kathleen Vincent thanked the parks department for making improvements to Whitnall Park and the area around the beer garden, including work on the parkway, parking lot, lighting and walking paths.

“Thank you to our incredible community and dedicated Parks department,” Vincent said. “Your support and collaboration have been pivotal in transforming Whitnall Park Beer Garden into a lively gathering place.”