New beer garden taking shape in Lake Zurich

The new beer garden at Breezewald Park in downtown Lake Zurich is taking shape physically and behind the scenes.

Taking advantage of recent mild weather, village work crews have poured the concrete foundation for the 400-square-foot beer pavilion and erected some of the building's wooden frame. The beer garden eventually will have tables and chairs for revelers.

The village hopes the $157,000 facility, which was paid for by the developer of the nearby Somerset By The Lake luxury rental community, will attract people to the lake and to the downtown area.

Kyle Kordell, the assistant to the village manager, said officials received three proposals from local restaurants to operate the pavilion: Beelow's Steakhouse, Bobbers and PB & S Investments LLC, the company that owns Scoreboard Bar and Grill.

Kordell said the village staff will recommend one to the village board in the coming weeks.

Behind the scenes, rules on how the beer garden and the park will operate are coming together as well.

Mayor Thomas Poynton said officials are discussing new rules for Breezewald Park and should have a plan for the village board to review next month. A set of new rules was on the consent agenda at the board meeting this week, but Poynton asked that it be removed from consideration.

"We had some preliminary discussion after the agenda came out and felt it needed to be vetted more," he said. "I made a half-dozen notes on it of things I was uncomfortable about."

The proposed and discarded new rules for the park called for eliminating lifeguards, no longer requiring beach passes for non-Lake Zurich residents and having longer-than-usual swim hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bonnie Caputo, the village's recreation director, said she drafted those rules. Caputo said she favors doing away with Breezewald's lifeguards mostly because there will be a greater need for them at the beach at Paulus Park, which will nearly double in size this summer as part of a separate project.

Breezewald Park usually attracts around 60 daily users, compared to more than 300 at Paulus, a number that may increase after the beach expansion, Caputo said.

"That's what the recommendation came from," she said. "We're refocusing our energies where we can make a greater impact."

Also, the rules for Breezewald Park's hours will be determined after officials know which business will operate the pavilion, she said.

Kordell said the goal is to have the beer garden ready by the beginning of summer.