Minocqua will be getting a new commercial business in the downtown following town board approval Tuesday of Tyler and Kelly Knobeck’s request for a Class B liquor license for their proposed enterprise called The Bottled Bean.
The couple told supervisors it will be a combination artisan coffee shop, craft beer café and cocktail stop, the latter with a varied selection offering spiked hot chocolate, Bloody Mary’s and espresso martinis, among others.
They hope to have The Bottled Bean built within the next year on the vacant lots they purchased at 518 Chippewa Street, just west of the St. Matthias Thrift Shop.
Their plans call for outdoor seating, communal seating, and a grab-and-go bottle and tap system. They will also offer local pastries, cheeses and other offerings. They will not have a commercial kitchen, they said. Customers will be able to bring in their own food and order drinks or coffee. For now, they expect to be open six days a week; closed Tuesdays.
In addition, the 1,980-square-foot facility will accommodate small gatherings for meetings, work-related or social, they said.
Drawings for the new structure are still being worked on, they said. Once plans are final, they will return to the town and Oneida County for a conditional use permit. Town supervisors had no concerns and wished the couple well on their new venture.
Kelly Knobeck has worked in the coffee industry for more than a decade, including two years in the United Kingdom. Currently, she is the director of consumer products for a publicly traded medical device company. Tyler Knobeck is a CPA and has worked in finance for Kohler Company for nearly 10 years. Currently, he works as an accounting manager, overseeing the finances for two small luxury businesses.
“I’ve been coming up here with my family for 20 plus years,” he said of the Lakeland area. “We thought it was a great spot to raise a family,” he added, noting they welcomed a new baby last October.
The Picnic Spot returns
In another business request, supervisors approved a request by Sue Perron to again lease the concession stand at Torpy Park for a café during the 2022 summer season. She last rented the concession stand in 2017.
Operating in the lower level of the main pavilion, The Picnic Spot will offer sandwiches, hot dogs, smoothies and basic beach necessities such as sunscreen and swim diapers. It will be open Tuesday through Sunday from June 1 to Sept. 9.
Perron will pay the town $100 a week in rent. She will suspend operations on those days that any non-profit organization has reserved Torpy Park with plans to sell concessions at their event, unless the organization agrees to let her sell on that day.
In other actions, the town chairman reappointed Mark Killian to the Lakeland Sanitary board of commissioners for another 6-year term; Phil Albert, Joe Hegge and Pete Otis to the broadband business & development committee for another 2-year term; Hegge and Phil Albert to the plan commission for another 3-year term; Kim Widmer, Lisa Nomm, Karen Stinemates and Pat Pechura to the Minocqua Public Library board of trustees for another 3-year term.
