November 17, 2022
WRIGHTSTOWN – As it did for many people throughout the country, the COVID-19 pandemic forced changes in lifestyle, careers, family life and finances.
Daniel Zapata, a Northeast Wisconsin transplant from Massachusetts, said he certainly falls into that category.
Now the owner of Lost Key Tap, a restaurant located at 505 Washington St. in the Village of Wrightstown, Zapata and his wife Lauren opened the establishment earlier this March – a leap of faith that thus far has paid off.
“So far, things are going well,” he said.
?Zapata said he met Lauren, a Wrightstown native, in Boston before the pair moved to Minneapolis.
“Once the pandemic hit, and I was out of work for a while, we had to make a change,” he said. “Lauren is a retired ballerina, so she was affected by the pandemic, too.”
Zapata said they decided to settle down in Wrightstown after Lauren’s parents made them an offer too good to pass up.
“With Lauren growing up in the Wrightstown area, her parents owned the building we’re currently located in,” he said. “They offered us an opportunity to start Lost Key Tap, and we didn’t want to pass it up.”
Zapata said the building used to host another restaurant – The Tiger’s Den Pub and Grill.
“The building was vacant for almost 10 years before we moved in,” he said.
Small-town lifestyle
Moving from Boston to Minneapolis and then to Wrightstown, Zapata said he appreciates the small-town lifestyle.
“There are advantages and disadvantages to wherever you live, but I like it,” he said of Wrightstown, which has a population of 3,200. “It’s slower-paced, but right now, the pace is irrelevant to me – I currently don’t have much free time with starting the restaurant – I do the same things every day and week and focus on what I have to do.”
Lost Key Tap in Wrightstown is currently open four days a week. Lost Key Tap Photo
Despite never owning a business, Zapata said he has 15 years of experience working in the restaurant industry.
“With owning a new business, there are lots of unknowns,” he said. “A lot of learning has taken place – adjusting what we do. I think we’re doing well because we are unique and there isn’t anything like us nearby. We’re putting out fine-dining quality food for our customers, but we expect people to come in and enjoy themselves – we’re on the more casual side of things. We have quite a few TVs around the bar, so it also lends itself to watching games.”
Story behind the name
Zapata said the story behind the establishment’s name – Lost Key Tap – goes back more than 100 years.
“In the early 1900s, Wrightstown had a swing-style bridge that rotated open to allow boat traffic to pass,” he said. “The bridge required a bridge operator to manage the opening and closing of the bridge when boats needed to go through. The operator would go to the center of the bridge with the ‘key,’ place it on a square peg and manually turn the key until the bridge rotated open. In 1935, what everyone in Wrightstown calls the old bridge, was built and replaced the swing bridge. When this happened, the keys were thrown into the river and were lost.”
Zapata said it took several decades – but one of the keys was eventually found.
“In the 1970s during the dredging process to put gas lines across the river, one of the keys was found,” he said. “Years later, it was donated to the Wrightstown Historical Society across Mueller Street from our location.”
Zapata said bringing some of the community’s history into the restaurant helps carve Lost Key Tap’s place in it.
A focus on service
With about 15 employees, Zapata said Lost Key Tap puts a high priority on service.
“We want the service to be exemplary and be up to par with eating a $42 filet mignon, (which) we’re cleaning and hand cutting here in-house,” he said. “All of our sauces and dressings are made in-house – we pride ourselves on fresh food.”
A quick glance at Lost Key Tap’s website, lostkeytap.com, shows it offers appetizers, soups, salads, various steaks, grilled chicken and salmon, burgers, desserts and a fish fry.
Nestled between Green Bay and Appleton, Zapata said Lost Key Tap seeks to bring an elevated, chef-driven menu that brings a taste of big-city flavor to small-town Wisconsin.
“Besides our steaks, our salmon, which we get fresh twice per week, is a big seller,” he said. “I like everything on the menu, but I know everyone has a taste for different things.”
Lost Key Tap offers dinner Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. and lunch/dinner Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
//s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1668719901308x364600973910733700/richtext_content.webpLost Key Tap seeks to bring an elevated, chef-driven menu that brings a taste of big-city flavor to small-town Wisconsin. Lost Key Tap Photo
Lost Key Tap is currently closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
“If we see a need to be open more and we have the staff needed, we’d certainly entertain that,” Zapata said.
He said reservations are recommended but not required – unless your party has 10 or more people.
“You can email us at eat@lostkeytap.com for availability or call (920) 532-9090,” he said.
Looking to the future, Zapata has a simple yet modest goal.
“Our biggest hope is we are here and still going strong a year from now,” he said. “We want a customer base that trusts us, believes in what we’re doing and keeps coming back.”
Community service
The Zapatas are also involved in the community – something Daniel said is important to him and his wife.
“We recently did a fundraiser for a nonprofit called ‘One Wrightstown,’” he said. “We’re normally closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but we opened for the fundraiser on a Sunday. We advertised a $20 entry fee to come in and watch the game, and we made booyah in a big kettle outside. All the proceeds were donated to One Wrightstown. We don’t like to say ‘no’ to helping people raise money for the community.”
One Wrightstown provides students with various degrees of support.
Zapata said he and Lauren have also done work with St. Clare Catholic School in Wrightstown, Rawhide and Bike to the Beat.
“I’m a big cyclist, but this year, we had a tent set up at (Bike to the Beat) and gave out free samples of our pasta salad,” he said. “I’m hoping to participate in it next year, aside from being a stop on the tour.”