‘A lifestyle destination startup with a bold vision’

Nancy Barthel

Contributor

December 30, 2024

ALLOUEZ – Owner/Chef Lukas Lipburger said Generations Bistro & Marketplace – located at 3235 Riverside Drive in Allouez – is not an ordinary eatery and grocery store, and intentionally so.

“We’re being intentional because we want to make sure the experience really is intentional,” he said. “It focuses on education rather than mass service. We want our staff to be knowledgeable of the (products)… so that the story can be told at the table.”

Lipburger said the multi-focused establishment aims to create a destination focused on every “body,” as it inspires people to live a healthy lifestyle.

Paying more attention to what we are buying, he said, “is what I want people to understand.”

Inspired by heritage

Lipburger – who has dual citizenship in the United States and Austria – said Generations Bistro & Marketplace is a tribute to the rich culinary heritage he inherited from his family, as well as his global travels. 

“I believe in the history of food and want to share my passion with current and future generations…,” he said. “Food is a testament to the past and present, a memorable experience that lasts a lifetime.”

Inspired by his mother Carlyn, grandparents and a lineage of successful chefs, Lipburger said he considers himself a true foodie, which comes across in the dishes he makes.

Lipburger said he believes every meal should be an event and doesn’t conform to the grab-and-go mentality prevalent in today’s society.

“A meal should be enjoyed…,” he said. “A doggy bag is not what I’m cooking for.”

Lipburger said he lived in Austria until he was 14 years old and, as an adult, enrolled in the three-year master’s culinary and hospitality training program at Tourismusschulen Villa Blanka in Innsbruck, Austria.

“At a young age, my uncle in Austria always had a restaurant and a cafe,” he said. “My personality has always been hospitable, so it was the right industry for me to get into… Creating smiles is my passion, so what better way to do that than food.”

In Austria, Lipburger said cooking is part of the everyday, and “it should be something memorable.”

A years-long journey

Lipburger said most of his time over the past two years has been spent working on Generations Bistro & Marketplace, planning each aspect down to the tiniest of details – a journey that was accompanied by a variety of hiccups.

For example, he said the establishment’s opening was delayed because of backorders in equipment, such as for his kitchen.

Part of that planning process, Lipburger said, included cultivating a robust list of local vendors for ingredients and supplies.

“I worked with local vendors to source, to be honest, the cleanest ingredients,” he said. “With each vendor, we curate the best that they offer, the most unique products that we can find and put them in the store.”

One such vendor, Lipburger said, is the Oneida Nation, which will provide Generations with grass-fed bison, as well as canned goods and preserves.

“I’m excited to be able to share their nationally recognized efforts in agriculture,” he said.

Maplewood Meats will also be a significant source of ingredients for Generations, Lipburger said, as will Door 44 Winery in Sturgeon Bay, Parallel 44 Winery in Kewaunee and LaClare Creamery in Malone.

Further out, Lipburger said other Wisconsin products include Wisco Pop Beverages in Madison and Top Note Sparkling Mixers in Milwaukee and Nordic Creamery in Westby.

Other regional products, he said, come from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota, in addition to other U.S. vendors, such as sheep yogurt from California.

The marketplace, Lipburger said, also has an international area.

Not only will Generations be a place for the public to shop, but Lipburger said the bistro will also “shop” from the marketplace as menus are planned.

All items, both in the marketplace and at the bistro, Lipburger said, are “clean, pure ingredients that speak for themselves, and that’s really the message.”

“We’re not just a store, we’re not just a restaurant,” he said. “We want to focus on educating people.”

“(In Europe), you can go to the store, you can trust that the ingredients are from the farm down the road,” he said. “Farm to table is what we’re really after. It’s intentional and focuses on relationships and ingredients.”

“Essentially, we want to create an escape from the ordinary,” he said.

The marketplace

The marketplace side of Generations, he said, is open and offers a variety of regional healthy and “clean” food, personal care and household cleaning items.

“Everything from cleaning products, deodorants and specialty gifts, to regenerative produce and dairy, breads, pastas (and meats),” he said. “Everything you buy essentially in a big grocery store, we’ll have, it’s just intentionally sourced.”

In addition, Lipburger said the marketplace carries Old World grain flour and European gifts.

“(For example), we’ll even have specialty perfumes that are pheromone-based that adapt to the person’s body,” he said.

The marketplace is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

The bistro

The bistro side, Lipburger said, is currently hosting invitation-only dinners in order to train staff, with a new year opening planned.

When Lipburger opens the doors of the bistro, he said daytime offerings will be reminiscent of the coffee houses of Vienna.

Morning options until 11 a.m. or possibly later, he said, will feature continental breakfast items, specialty French toast, egg souffles and “more unique items where you sit down and enjoy a different breakfast experience that you would only get in Europe or Asia.”

The bistro will also serve Viennese coffee, which Lipburger said was first developed by Julius Meinl coffee in 1862.

“(In Vienna), restaurants and cafes are meant to (be) relaxing,” he said. “(A Viennese cafe is a place where you can) enjoy something you don’t have the time to make at home.”

This, he said, includes the 1862 “recipe-specific coffee,” which requires specialty grinding and precise barometric pressure to brew it.

Lipburger said he anticipates the daytime cafe to be the first area to open in the bistro for regular hours.

He said he encourages folks to visit the Generations’ website (generationsmarkets.com) and Facebook or Instagram pages for updates.

The bar will be ‘special’

The bar inside Generations Bistro & Marketplace, Lipburger said, is currently only open for private events.

However, once staff is trained and the bar is opened to the public, he said it “is going to be special.”

“We make everything in-house ourselves,” he said.

Lipburger said the “cozy” bar will feature craft cocktails, which offer tastes reflective of the origins of where the beverage was created.

“Mixology is a beautiful art that allows for creativity,” he said. “(Our) Wisconsin Old Fashioned is going to be one of the best old fashioneds.”

During the warmer months, Lipburger said Generations Bistro & Marketplace will open its outdoor patio space.

The name ‘Generations’ tells a story

Lipburger said not only is Generations Bistro & Marketplace inspired by his family’s Austrian traditions, but it also reflects the story of his Green Bay family.

He said his mother and stepfather, Wolfie Weiler, co-own the Weiler Academy Wellness and Spa, also located at 3235 Riverside Drive.

Though Generations Bistro & Marketplace is separate from the Weiler Academy – which opened 15 years ago – Lipburger said it serves as the final “pillar” to fulfill his mother’s concept for the Weiler Academy.

The five pillars she set out to accomplish, he said, are movement, balance, regeneration, fuel (or food) and recovery – with Generations covering a variety of these concepts.

Lipburger said his mother is a certified master pilates trainer and a professor of movement in Europe.

“Her life’s work is really based on proper movements and posture,” he said.

Lipburger said his mother also trained Olympic ski jumpers and athletes for Austria.

“Her main focus was always building spas, that was her passion,” he said. “Like helping the Austrian thermal world… Everyone over there goes to a thermal spa every year, because it’s covered by insurance.” 

Two years ago, Lipburger said the Weiler Academy relocated to the Riverside Drive property when his parents purchased the building, which had been a daycare center.

The Weiler Academy and Generations Bistro & Marketplace, he said, share one entrance, similar to a piazza in Europe – where multiple businesses branch off from the piazza.

Lipburger said Studio M Master Hair Stylist also has space at Weiler Academy.

“We’re working together to fulfill the pillars (of the Weiler Academy) to create healthy people with a focus on body, mind and soul,” he said.

Lipburger said all of his immediate family are part of the Generations Bistro & Marketplace experience – which in addition to his mother and stepfather, includes his sister and brother-in-law, Jacque and Tim Cook and their four-year-old daughter, Louisa.

“This is why it’s called Generations,” he said. “(Louisa has) been such an integral part of everything. She loves coming to this business… All generations, young and old, feel at home.”

Lipburger said he is pleased with Generation’s convenient location in Allouez, which is close to the highway and nestled on the bookend of many neighborhoods.

“I love Allouez,” he said. “I think Allouez is an understated community, yet one of the most shining pillars in the community from a residential perspective. The location and the community support we’ve gotten from the village, have been the perfect partners.”

Pandemic-prompted pivot

After visiting 129 countries and working nine years for Princess Cruise Lines – founding its Innovation and Experience Department – Lipburger said the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to pivot.

“I’ve been a man of the world and spent 300 days out of the year traveling,” he said. “COVID stopped the world for me, and it made me realize what I’d been missing out on, which is family.”

Lipburger said he went from being on a lively cruise ship surrounded by thousands of people to renting a room at a friend’s house in Los Angeles due to the pandemic.

He said he began hammering out the details of the Generations Bistro & Marketplace concept when he moved back to Wisconsin during the pandemic.

Getting his feet wet in the local food scene, Lipburger said, started at the Weidner Center, where he began providing concession options for major events.

“I do all the concessions there (for major events, excluding the liquor and soft drink sales),” he said. “(The) goal is to create a more upscale, pre-show experience where they’ll have more small dinner-like options.”

When he returned to the region, Lipburger said he also got involved in the community – serving as a board member for the Altrusa Hospitality House (1116 E. Mason St. in Green Bay).

Today, he serves as vice chairperson.