Waukesha County’s Lake Country next summer will be home to the newest fine dining concept by Milwaukee-based Bartolotta Restaurants.
The restaurant and event venue, dubbed The Commodore, will open at the former Seven Seas building on Nagawicka Lake in Delafield, according to a news release Wednesday.
The Weissgerber family’s restaurant closed in December 2020 after 39 years in business at the historic waterfront property, which originally opened in 1905 as Hasslinger’s Pleasant View Hotel & Resort.
Bartolotta has partnered with David Herro and Jay Franke of HF Hospitality Group to open The Commodore. Late last year, Herro and Franke purchased the 3.9-acre property from the Weissgerber family for $4.5 million, originally with plans for a restaurant, private event space and private members club operated by Milwaukee-based Saz’s Hospitality Group.
The property at 1807 Nagawicka Road has changed hands more than 15 times in the past century, serving as a hotel, a discotheque, a girl’s camp and a school.
“This 117-year-old building is a living time capsule of Nagawicka Lake and the Lake Country community surrounding it …,” said Paul Bartolotta, co-founder, owner and chef at The Bartolotta Restaurants. “Together with our partners, David and Jay, we will bring new life to this building and create a dining experience that is truly unique to Lake Country and the Greater Milwaukee area.”
Redesign and restoration work is currently underway on the 27,000-square-foot, multi-story building. The atmosphere of its main-level dining room, overlooking the lake, will pay homage to classic yacht clubs of the 1920s, “while embracing modern Lake Country and its inviting, comfortable, and celebratory atmosphere,” according to the release.
Also a nod to yacht club culture, the name “commodore” is the title given to a club’s top leader. The moniker “addresses both current and past commodores in recognition of the time and effort it takes to achieve this rank. As the saying goes, ‘Once a commodore, always a commodore,'” the group said in the news release.
“We are thrilled to partner with Bartolotta, given their reputation for innovative and high-quality dining experiences,” said Herro and Franke. “It’s our plan to passionately rejuvenate this property, reflecting its legacy and importance in the community.”
The Commodore will be one of 18 Bartolotta-operated restaurants and catering properties in southeastern Wisconsin. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, nine Bartolotta locations have so far reopened for business, including the addition of a new lakefront concept, the Roundhouse at McKinley Marina on Milwaukee’s lakefront. That counter-service restaurant opened in July 20, serving light snacks as well as beer, wine and cocktails.
