By KATY SAVAGE
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BELLOWS FALLS —A new beer garden and restaurant is coming to town at the end of June.
Three friends and beer lovers Remy Walker, Alain Martinez and Gabriele Soyka are opening Wunderbar, inspired by Bavarian beer gardens that Walker and Martinez saw during an 18-day trip to Europe two years ago.
Martinez, 40, and Walker, 27, wanted to create a warm, welcoming place, like those they experienced at bars and pubs in Germany.
“We saw a different relationship between pubs and beer gardens,” Martinez said. “You have families and businessmen and all walks of life—all age ranges.”
Walker and Martinez moved to Bellows Falls from Miami, Florida two years ago to join their friend Soyka, who is originally from Germany.
Walker and Martinez made their presence known immediately when they painted an exterior mural of a Bavarian man that covers the entire end of a historic building where they have now opened their beer garden.
It was inspired by a mural they saw in Florida.
“It did such great things for the community [in Florida] and we wanted to do the same here,” Martinez said.
The three friends did much of the work on the interior work for their new establishment themselves. They created the eclectic interior from trinkets they bought at antique shops, dumps and even from street vendors.
The décor includes more than a dozen old radios. Repurposed tin roofing covers the walls. There are benches from a bowling alley and upholstered barrel chairs from the 1950s.
The partners laid a new tile floor themselves and painted a custom mural for the inside.
“The place has our blood, sweat and tears in it,” Martinez said.
They plan to sell only locally-sourced beers in their 50-seat bar and restaurant, which will also feature live music.
“Beer is so big in Vermont,” Walker said. “So many come to taste the beer. We wanted to highlight what’s so great already in the state.”
Like the beer, the food is also sourced locally and will change with the seasons. It will include bratwurst, sautéed kraut, pretzels with homemade mustard and currywurst, sliders, sandwiches and salads.
The building, at 22 Rockingham Street is next to the Windham Antique Center and Moon Dog Café, which relocated from Chester to Bellows Falls earlier this year.
Walker, Martinez, and Soyka are awaiting approval of their liquor license and expect to open at the end of June. Wunderbar, pronounced “voondehrbahr,” will be open Wednesday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. A late night menu will be available after 9:30 p.m.
“It’s been kind of a lifelong passion for both of ours,” Martinez said.
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