Photo credit: Tyler Nelson
West Allis has been going through some renovations over the last few years, but one staple of the community and Milwaukee area has been around since 1924 and has no plans on changing its status. Kegel’s Inn has closed for the 10 days leading up to Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, when they plan to re-open after a complete overhaul and state-of-the-art renovation to their kitchen.
The kitchen hadn’t needed any work since its last overhaul in 1956, done by previous owner George Kegel, until a couple years ago. Julian Kegel, fourth-generation family member and current owner, got the OK from the city to create a beer garden on 59th Street, which borders the east side of the property. The idea was a success, but more space along with more traffic and attention put a lot of stress on the staff.
“It’s really my job and responsibility to make sure that the whole team, not just the dollars coming in, makes sense for everybody,” says Kegel. “We doubled the size of the restaurant. We’ve got a hundred seats in here, we put a hundred seats outside.”
The kitchen renovation includes a large food-prep area in the basement where they have more space to prepare authentic food, like browning and roasting bones from raw meat and creating gravies for their dishes.
Julian praises his staff for sticking with him and some of his crazy ideas, his family for keeping Kegel’s going—including like his grandpa George in the ‘50s, then uncles Rob and Jim who ran the place for the last few decades—and finally the countless people who have remained repeat-customers. Julian has some of the same great memories from his childhood as a patron and a duck dish that has yet to be matched.
A perennial finalist on our Best of Milwaukee list, Kegel’s Inn plans on sticking with what they’ve come to be known for: great German food.
Check out the video companion to this piece below!
