GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A new bar and restaurant in downtown Green Bay is opening their doors starting Thursday.
Poke the Bear is not your average sports bar.
Located in downtown Green Bay in the heart of Packer land it’s taking the emphasis away from the coaches and players and placing it on you. The beer drinking, cheese-loving fan.
“Our concept, our take, is to celebrate the fan,” explains Hotel Northland General Manager John Williams. “Particularly the one-hundred-year fans of the Green Bay Packers.”
Poke the Bear is located at Hotel Northland and is the first of the hotel’s two restaurants to open.
“There’s another one coming, that’ll open the day the hotel opens,” he explains. “It’s called the Walnut Room and it’s a fine dining restaurant with a bar.”
Poke the Bear will initially be open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday, serving lunch, dinner, and drinks from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The bar will feature handcrafted cocktails, including classic Wisconsin Old Fashions. They also will have plenty to offer beer lovers.
“We have some great draft beers,” says Williams. “In fact, our own Northland Amber was made right here in Green Bay and it’s my favorite beer down there.”
For food, there is plenty of variety to appease any taste.
“Poke the Bear will serve fresh, amazingly good gastropub dishes,” explains Chef J.R. Lundy, executive chef for the Hotel Northland.
There’s a variety of salads, burgers, and sandwiches that will be offered featuring local, sustainable ingredients.
And try your best to save some room for more.
“All our desserts are made in-house and are out-of-this-world,” says Chef Lundy.
A tentative opening date for the hotel itself has not been established, but for management, the opening of this first restaurant is an important step.
“This is a long time coming, there were a lot of stops and starts,” says Williams. “This is something the citizens of Green Bay wanted to see come back to life, and you know, it has happened.”
The bar and restaurant plans on extending their hours and days with time. Anyone entering should come through the hotel’s entrance at 304 N. Adams Street.
More information on Poke the Bear can be found here.
