Lowlands Hospitality Group: Celebrates 20 years with a toast to gezellig – and the road ahead

Two bier-forward events this September honor two decades of “GEZELLIG HOSPITALITY” in Milwaukee and beyond

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (August 31, 2026) — Twenty years ago, Lowlands Hospitality Group opened its first restaurant – Café Hollander on Downer Avenue. Inspired by the grand cafes of the Netherlands and Belgium’s special bier culture, Lowlands set out to create a place where people wanted to come together and experience true gezellig – that Dutch word without a translation that essentially means coziness amongst friends.Today, Lowlands has grown to eight restaurants across five cities and nearly 800 employees. This September, the company is celebrating its 20 years with a Chimay bier dinner at Benelux and block party where it all started.

“Our 20th anniversary month is a huge thank you – to our Lowlanders, our communities, and to all of our vendor partners who have been part of our story,” said Eric Wagner, founder and CEO of Lowlands Hospitality Group. “We started with a very simple plan that became our Purpose – to bring people together to make life more gezellig. Our teams work to deliver this every day, and I’m so proud and humbled to say thank you for the last 20 years, and to say that we’re just getting started. I look forward to sharing stories and looking back 20 years at our celebrations in September.”

This September, Lowlands marks its 20th anniversary with two public bier events that capture that ethos — one intimate, one wide open — under the banner of 20 years of Belgian Bier and Gezellig experiences.

An Exclusive Evening: The Club Chimay Bier Dinner

On Tuesday, September 22, Lowlands hosts an intimate five-course Chimay bier dinner in the Lux Skyhaus, Café Benelux’s convertible rooftop event space. Chimay Export Director Pierre Hensenne will lead guests through the evening, sharing the stories behind the legendary Trappist brewery’s biers as each is paired with a course created specifically for the experience. 

The dinner also celebrates a relationship that has become an important part of Lowlands’ Belgian bier story: today, Lowlands Hospitality Group is the largest Chimay account in the United States. It’s a fitting milestone for a company that has spent twenty years introducing guests to storied Belgian biers and the culture, tradition and people behind them. 

Seating is intentionally intimate, with just 40 tickets available to the public.

Event Details

Five-Course Menu

  • Welcome — The Table

Chimay 175, paired with a Belgian welcome board of cured meats, artisan cheeses, house accompaniments, and grilled bread, portioned for the table

  • Second Course — The Orchard

Chimay Première (Red), paired with duck and dried cherry meatball, hazelnut-chervil gremolata, pickled shallot

  • Third Course — From the Sea

Chimay Cinq Cents (White), paired with PEI mussels, fennel, orange, Chimay White cream, grilled bread

  • Fourth Course — The Hearth

Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue), paired with braised beef cheek, celery root mash, charred onion, Chimay Blue jus

  • Dessert — The Cellar

Chimay Grande Réserve, Willett bourbon barrel-aged, paired with aged gouda crème brûlée, black pepper–pickled blackberry, soft whipped cream

A Community Thank You: The 20th Anniversary Block Party

Four days later, on Saturday, September 26, Lowlands returns to where it all began for a free block party at Café Hollander on Downer Avenue. It’s a thank you to the East Side and every neighborhood a Lowlands restaurant calls home — an open invitation to gather, not just a party to watch. Guests can expect live music, festival snacks, and a full lineup of bier, wine, and cocktails, all in the spirit of the inclusivity and belonging Lowlands builds into every room it opens.

Event Details

  • What: 20th Anniversary Block Party
  • When: Saturday, September 26, 2026 — 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM
  • Where: Café Hollander Downer, 2608 N Downer Avenue, Milwaukee, WI
  • Cost: Free to attend; food and beverages available for purchase; open to all ages

Features: Live music featuring Tim Wright, Reyna & Punch, activities & giveaways, bier/

wine/cocktails for purchase, Belgian festival snacks, and the full Café Hollander menu

Twenty years in, Lowlands is still growing with purpose — and this September, it’s celebrating the only way it knows how: together, with a full glass, and a little more gezellig.

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