Bacchus sous chef plans Cedarburg restaurant Brandywine

The executive sous chef at Bacchus is planning his own restaurant in Cedarburg called Brandywine, with a focus on seasonal vegetables.

Andrew Wilson's plans to convert the building at W61-N480 Washington Ave. into a restaurant cleared a hurdle with the city's Plan Commission last week. The building, formerly a visitors center, has no kitchen; the planners' review and backing will allow a kitchen to be added at the rear of the building.

Wilson described the restaurant as eclectic Midwestern, focusing on using local produce and incorporating pastas into the menu. 

Wilson, a chef for 15 years, previously rose to executive chef at the Madison Club and worked in California. He began working in restaurants at the acclaimed Trattoria Stefano in Sheboygan, where Wilson's family moved from Madison when he was young.

Brandywine is named for the heirloom tomato, a favorite variety of Wilson's mother's. "She was a real avid organic gardener," he said. "That was a variety she grew a lot when I was younger."

The restaurant's menu will be "vegetable-forward... Seasonal vegetables will factor in in a big way," Wilson said.

"It's the way we tend to cook and eat at home," he said (the oldest of his three children is vegetarian). He and his family now live in Cedarburg. 

Wilson hopes to serve meats that also are produced locally.

Construction has not yet started, but Wilson is aiming to open the restaurant by the end of the year. He and his wife, Rhiannon, own the building, which includes an adjoining stone structure that houses a salon. The salon is staying, Wilson said.

Plans call for Brandywine to have a rustic interior, though it will incorporate existing features such as a tin ceiling. Its approach will be much more casual than that of downtown fine-dining stalwart Bacchus, where Wilson has been the executive sous chef since January 2016.

Brandywine is expected to have room for 65 customers at dinner and weekend brunch.