A shining ‘Star’ of restoration and community philanthropy
‘This recognition a testament to hard work and dedication’
September 8, 2025
FOND DU LAC – Young entrepreneurs Brandee Alexander and Sarah Palas said they have been working together in the bar and restaurant industry since 2009.
“I had actually just moved to Fond du Lac and Brandee was managing a sports bar – [the Coliseum – located] just down the street from the Cellar District and hired me on as a server,” Palas said.
During their collective time at the Coliseum, Palas said “we both learned a lot.”
“When Brandee got pregnant with her twins, I took over management of the Coliseum,” she said. “And when she came back, she kind of worked under me.”
After reconnecting in 2020, as things started returning to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, Palas said they decided it was finally time to launch their own business.
Palas said though she and Alexander had taken breaks from the industry – and “COVID was definitely rough” – each time, they came back more certain that this was where they wanted to be.
“It wasn’t the business part of what COVID did to the industry,” she said. “Staffing was our biggest concern. So, once everything opened back up, we were like, ‘You know what? It’s now or never.’ We were at a point where we could continue working hard. The older you get, the less you’re going to be able to work as hard as you want to.”
Though they were veterans in the industry and only in their early 30s at the time, Alexander and Palas said they were a little nervous taking the leap.
“It’s scary, regardless, jumping into something like that,” Palas said. “I’ll never forget meeting with the bank and the banker having concerns that we were doing it together. One, because some partnerships don’t work out – so that was a concern. And then the financing part of it.”
Though she admits they didn’t have much in their savings for a down payment, Palas said what they did have served them and their new business venture very well.
“The only thing we had was our customer base that we had built over the years working at the Coliseum,” she said.
Palas said she and Alexander developed strong ties to the community, which were exasperated when they announced their plans.
“We had community support that was unparalleled to what I would have ever expected,” she said. “We got to know the community and the city, [too]. Brandee and I participated in volunteer work, [helped out at] Ruby’s Pantry and teamed up with the fire department multiple times.”
That familiarity, Palas said, extended to the bank – which they worked with during their time at the Coliseum.
“They knew us,” she said. “I think a lot of [our connections] ended up paying off in the end. Fond du Lac is a smaller community and getting to know one another is important here.”
With the community behind them, Palas said they secured financing for The Cellar District.
An historic opportunity
With the decision made and financing secured, the colleagues-turned-business-partners said they started the search for the perfect spot – exploring what buildings might be up for grabs.
“It just took off from there,” Palas said. “There were people who were approaching us asking, ‘Hey, we heard you were looking – would you want to come in and check this place out?’ When we found out about the church, we couldn’t pass that up.”
Palas said they were close to finalizing a deal for a different restaurant space – with a completely different concept – when the opportunity to take over the historic church unexpectedly came up.
“We had found a different building, different restaurant, different location – and thought that was going to be the one,” she said. “Then we were approached about the church, and they told us it was vacant again and wondered if we would be interested in taking a look and maybe turning it back into a restaurant again.”
The building – which began taking shape in 1913 and completed in 1930 – Palas said, was the original home of the Immanuel Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church after Trinity English Lutheran Church and Immanuel German Lutheran Church merged, creating the congregation.
“It was built brick by brick from 1913 until 1930,” she said.
Per The Cellar District’s website (cellardistrict.com), the church moved to a new location in 2002, leaving the original building vacant.
Around eight years later, the website states, local developers – Commonwealth Development – purchased the property and began renovations to turn it into Trinity Restaurant and Banquet Hall.
“[Because it was previously a restaurant], the main structure of it was done – but it had [been sitting] vacant for about six months,” she said. “When we did a walkthrough, it was the middle of summer in 2021, and it was freezing. The building itself. We wore jackets, hats and mittens when we [had] our first couple of walkthroughs. It’s all limestone and concrete, so it was very cold and empty.”
However, Palas said the church’s rich history and architectural charm drew them in.
“The stained-glass windows, the ceilings – even though it was dark and cold and even had the same carpeting from the first restaurant – there was no way you could say no to a building like that,” she said. “We had this opportunity to bring back memories of people who had gone to church there and people who had been there for the first restaurant – and to bring this back to life.”
Palas described the old church as essentially an “empty shell,” but noted that the existing plumbing and electrical systems, done by the previous restaurant, gave them a solid starting point.
“It really took a lot of blueprints, and measuring to figure out how things would fit the best,” she said.
That doesn’t mean, Palas said, the process wasn’t without its challenges – including a delivery driver shortage around the time they were opening.
“We ended up getting a lot of used equipment, and most of it was from Milwaukee,” she said. “We would honestly rent U-Hauls every other day, at least, and drive to Milwaukee, haul our equipment back and get it moved in. We made it work.”
Describing herself and Alexander as naturally “challenge-oriented” people, Palas said they faced each obstacle head on, together.
“It came down to waking up in the morning and getting to work,” she said.
When things didn’t go as planned, Palas said they adapted – remaining focused on opening the business as soon as possible.
“We furnished the entire kitchen, everything at the bar, ordered chairs, the booths, tabletops, met with distributors, planned out our liquor, our beer, our food – all of it,” she said. “We were going to food shows in between all of this to figure out our menu. And then, of course, working with licensing, too.”
Palas said they felt fortunate to work with the Fond du Lac Health Department, which was supportive from the start.
“They were wonderful from the get-go,” she said. “They explained things [that needed to be done] with the building, and [we] got it all taken care of. It came down to all three [inspections] – building, health and fire inspections on the same day.”
With final approvals coming through just a day before their planned debut, Palas said The Cellar District (40 E. Division St.) opened right on time – in October 2021.
“I would say [what kept us going in the beginning] was energy drinks,” she laughed. “There are days when we are tired and stressed – it’s going to happen. If you have a business, there is no escaping that. But we are very fortunate with our business relationship. We communicate nonstop and work well with each other. If I need a day off to take an appointment, or whatever it may be, [Brandee] is willing to cover and vice versa.”
Going strong
In the last nearly four years, Palas said business has been “truly amazing” – crediting much of their momentum to the nearby Hotel Retlaw and growing relationships.
“We are fortunate that we have the Hotel Retlaw right across the street from us,” she said.
Between partnerships with the hotel, serving travelers and catering for area businesses, Palas said they’ve found strong local support.
“It’s that kind of sense of community that really keeps that momentum going,” she said.
Palas said their staff has also played a crucial role in that momentum.
“Our staff have our backs in every way,” she said. “If there is something we need to step away from, we know that they can handle it. We want to show them that we can trudge through the waters and crazy storms and come out on the other side. We want to be able to show that to everyone we employ.”
A unique, local flavor
Palas said supporting local producers is a priority at The Cellar District.
“We try to source our food locally,” she said. “Our tap lines are always going to be local Wisconsin breweries. Same with our cans and our liquor.”
When it comes to The Cellar District’s menu, Palas said it’s “definitely different for Fond du Lac.”
Palas said the restaurant’s Asian salmon bowl has become its top-selling dish, with the blueberry sea bass tacos also drawing frequent praise.
Elsewhere on the menu, rather than sticking to traditional pizza crusts, she said they opted to use naan in their wood-stone oven, offering a unique twist.
Palas said the menu features a wide variety of flavors aimed at bringing something different to the area, as well as some more well-known options, including desserts from CC’s Chocolates Café.
In addition to launching a successful catering service two years ago, she said The Cellar District now offers private event options through full restaurant buyouts on weeknights.
A space that tells a story
Even four years after opening, Palas said The Cellar District continues to welcome first-time visitors nearly every day.
She said it’s not uncommon to see guests walk through the doors and immediately pull out their phones to capture photos of the building’s striking architecture.
“Our servers tell us all the time that they serve somebody new every single day,” she said. “Having a place where people drive to, to be able to see that history [is great].”
Palas said The Cellar District walls feature several historical photos from the building’s days as a church – images that were gifted to them and are now proudly displayed.
“Our staff knows the entire history of the building and all of the original aspects so they can share that with our customers,” she said.
Though part of the building had begun to deteriorate after sitting vacant for several months – with visible damage like cracked windowsills – Palas said with the help of a skilled contractor, they were able to restore the space and bring it back to life.
“Fond du Lac is very historical in itself,” she said. “All of the buildings here are very historic. Showing that someone can come in and care for a building really does mean a lot to the people here.”
