Address: 1701 N Lincoln Memorial Dr
Pricing: $2 to $10
Phone: (414) 223-4551
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6:30 am to 10 pm; Sat. 7 am to 10 pm; Sun 7am to 10 pm
How To Get There:
Within Milwaukee, take roads East to North Lincoln Memorial Drive. From Chicago take Interstate 94 into Milwaukee. North Lincoln Memorial Drive is located along Lake Michigan and is just East of Prospect Avenue
Parking:street and lot parking available
Visit Website
Alterra At The Lake Cafe
Jul 2, 2010
In the past two decades, Milwaukee has transformed from an industrial town into a bustling city center. Old warehouses in the Fifth Ward are now upscale restaurants and trendy shops. Housing and businesses have developed along the river.
None of this was possible without a strong cup of coffee to keep the visionaries fueled. Ward Fowler, Lincoln Fowler and Paul Miller, in the early 90s, were working two jobs and barely staying awake. Basically sleep walking, they searched Milwaukee for a cup that would see them through 16-hour days.
Their search futile, in 1993 they began roasting their own beans, boasting a mean cup of joe. So was born Alterra Coffee. Now with several cafes--all located in unusual settings--throughout Milwaukee, it has become a favorite of not only Milwaukee's residents but visitors as well.
None is as popular or lovely as the Alterra At The Lake Cafe. As named, it is located in the former Milwaukee River Pumping Station with views of Lake Michigan. Vast with high ceilings, Alterra At The Lake has great outdoor seating and yearly presents the Florentine Opera and Musica del Lago.
Aside from coffee, deli sandwiches, salads, soups and pastries are on the menu. Moderately priced, a patron can spend as little as $2 to $10 at the cafe. Named one of America's Top 10 coffee houses by Vanity Fair, Alterra At The Lake is a great destination if you're thinking "day trip" from Chicago.
HelloMilwaukee Tip: Get there before noon while the WiFi is free. After noon the cafe has hourly fees that can rapidly add up, quickly depleting your cafe budget.
- by Lori Rotenberk , Milwaukee Reporter for HelloMetro
(Click to leave a message)
Lori Rotenberk Lori Rotenberk graduated from Drake University and is a Chicago-based journalist whose work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Newsweek and various magazines. She worked as a staff reporter on The Chicago Sun-Times, the suburban section of The Chicago Tribune and The Des Moines Register. In addition, she has studied fiction writing in adult education at the University of Chicago.
