Proposed beer garden delayed, again

NEW LONDON – A proposed beer garden to be constructed at the intersection of Wolf River Avenue and Smith Street by Der Wolf Garden LLC that had an original completion date of Dec. 31, 2025, that was then extended to July 1, 2026, has once again been delayed.
This time though, the city of New London isn’t just extending the completion date into the future. Rather, the New London Economic Committee, at its Sept. 23 meeting, approved authorizing the city administrator to renegotiate the terms with the developer including an extension to the agreement to be brought back to the committee in the future.
At the meeting, Kim Chonos, of Der Wolf Garden LLC, addressed the committee about the fact there has not been a construction groundbreaking or any construction work started on the property that the city sold to Der Wolf Garden for a proposed beer garden to be built on it. No money was exchanged in the sale, as the city provided a development incentive grant that covered the purchase.
“I do want to let you know that we are still actively invested in this project, and we are very interested in retaining this project and making it come to fruition,” Chonos said.
In May, Chonos asked the city for an extension of the timeline for the project due to her father-in-law being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was the project manager and was going through cancer treatment at the time.

Chonos said since she last spoke to the committee in May, she realized how big the project had become. The original plan included a restaurant.
“What it actually made me realize is that we needed to go back to making this a community project,” Chonos said. “We want this to be something where it is working with both the city and us as private investors, to be able to make that whole area come together to be developed.”
The large building that was in the original plan felt too “corporate” and not like a beer garden, Chonos said.
She acknowledged that city representatives and business owners from the area around the proposed beer garden property had met with a landscaper to design some concepts for the area. She said she heard the designs were “gorgeous” and she wanted the design of the proposed beer garden to flow with those designs.
“We really just want to be able to work together and be able to create that space in correlation with what the city is looking to do,” Chonos said.
She told the committee that she appreciated the extension the city gave her in May, adding that she’d like to once again extend the deadline for the project. She said she has been working with contractors for a smaller capacity than the original plan.
“And be able to grow into what the community actually needs, rather than just putting a giant building there and see if it’s maybe responsive to the community,” Chonos said.
New London City Administrator Chad Hoerth told the committee that the city recently received grant funds through East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to participate in theStrategic Planning and Revitalization for Communities (SPARC) program.
Hoerth said he’d love to see the proposed beer garden come to fruition, but after participating in the one-day SPARC workshop, he now sees the potential for the entire area.
“And how important it might be to plan together instead of Kim plopping something in there and we have to plan around that,” Hoerth said. “There is so much opportunity.”
Ald. BaLynda Croy agreed that the city should work together with Chonos.
“I feel like we’re just taking a step back to the original reason that this was even brought forward,” Croy said.

Past agreement
Hoerth said the city would need to consider the difference in value that would be brought to the property if the agreement is extended. The original agreement called for at least $550,000 in construction costs, which would have added a minimum of $400,000 of assessed value to the property.
Mayor Mark Herter asked Chonos if there would be a business on the property within the next two years.

Chonos said the hope is to have “something there” by next fall. This could be as simple as just a place to serve drinks and have food trucks available.
“Whether it’s a simple pavilion type of thing that we have that is seasonal, just to get something there, or if it’s something a little bit more that has garage doors and maybe a smaller building,” Chonos said. “So, something will be there. This project can’t continue to linger.”
She added that her group is financially invested in the project with downpayments to contractors.
“It is something that we need to make happen,” Chonos said.
Herter said he could support the idea of Chonos building into the space while working with the city.
Hoerth told the committee that under the current agreement, if substantial construction did not start by the end of this year, the property would be deeded back to the city. An extension would have to be approved by the end of this year.