Robin Shepard
Lone Girl Brewing is located along Main Street in Waunakee.
The area’s newest brewpub, the Lone Girl Brewing Company, is set to open in Waunakee in early June. The two-story, 11,000-square-foot facility is the anchor tenant for Waunakee’s new Village Crossing project on Main Street. Its brew house, main bar, restaurant, rooftop beer garden with a bandstand and a fire pit demonstrate that this is an ambitious design that may well fuel the revitalization of downtown Waunakee.
Robin Shepard
Inside the Lone Girl brew house, which is visible from the main bar and windows along Main Street.
The project has been in construction for over a year at the site where Koltes Lumber had operated since the 1880s. The brewpub’s interior decor is rustic and industrial. On the main floor there’s seating for 185, with a main bar flanked by five stainless steel beer-serving tanks. The 10-barrel brew house can also be seen from inside the bar and through windows along Main Street. A can’t-miss feature of the main dining room is a windowed rotunda with a seven-foot-diameter table made by local artist Jeremiah Logemann, who used reclaimed timber from a local barn. Reclaimed wood was also used for the dining tables, shelves and main bar.
Robin Shepard
The Lone Girl's rooftop patio seats 125 and has its own fire pit.
Also inviting is the rooftop beer garden. It has its own bar, entertainment stage and a play area for kids. The tabletops and benches came from white oak trees that once stood on the University Ridge golf course.
Robin Shepard
Brewpub co-owner Kevin Abercrombie in the brewhouse.
Co-owner and general manager Kevin Abercrombie wants the Lone Girl to be a destination for family outings, date nights and softball team celebrations. He’s hired local homebrewer John Russell as head brewer. Russell won best of show in the 2015 Grumpy Troll Challenge with a sweet stout. A version of that beer, along with an IPA and a cream ale, are expected to be the first house brews when Lone Girl opens. The first in-house beer release is slated for June. “We’ve waited a little longer to open so we can serve some of our own beers,” says Abercrombie.
Robin Shepard
The main bar area at the Lone Girl in Waunakee.
The name the Lone Girl is inspired by Abercrombie’s daughter. Abercrombie and his wife also have two sons; his primary business partner, Paul Kozlowski, and his wife have five sons.
