Lowlands Group

Take a seat at the Café Benelux bar, order a bier, and you’ll quickly see why locals love the place. The restaurant’s ethos embodies gezellig (heh-SELL-ick), a Dutch word that has no exact counterpart in the English language but describes that feeling of coziness when you’re surrounded by friends and loved ones.

That ambiance is woven into the fabric of every establishment operated by The Lowlands Group. For nearly two decades, the restaurant group has been the force behind many of the city’s most memorable dining experiences. Lowlands runs Café Hollander, Centraal Grand Café & Tappery, Buckatabon Tavern and Supper Club, as well as Café Benelux, which recently underwent an exciting renovation, adding a new retractable glass enclosure to its iconic rooftop.

What makes a Lowlands restaurant unique? There are many core brand components, but authenticity and travel are essential attributes. The adventurous Lowlands team traverses the globe to find inspiration for its restaurants, particularly the grand cafés of Northwestern Europe, with an emphasis on Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Committed to infusing European culture into their Midwest spaces and company culture, they’ve taken more than 75 employees to Belgium over the years to experience it at the source. When you step inside one of Lowlands’ grand cafés, you’ll feel transported to one of those distant destinations, where these ornately decorated settings serve as social and cultural hubs. Whether you’re just sipping a coffee, grabbing lunch or meeting friends for drinks and dinner, the atmosphere is convivial and rich in history.

Gezellig doesn’t only apply to the cultural traditions of Europe – it’s a sensation you can find across the globe, including Wisconsin’s Northwoods and supper clubs. That particularly Midwestern form of gezellig inspired the Lowlands team to open Buckatabon Supper Club, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Capturing comfort, warmth and heritage, the supper club embraces that same endearing spirit of camaraderie by way of perpetual wanderlust.

From brunch to lunch to dinner, Lowlands is all about gezellig – that beloved Dutch concept of warmhearted togetherness. With a wide variety of exceptional international biers, thoughtfully curated menus, and memorable neighborhood spaces brimming with character, every visit is an experience worth savoring.