What to know about the Cafe Benelux domes
When I moved to Wisconsin five years ago, it was a year of a polar vortex. I learned a lot that year.
I learned it could be minus 50, or so, and you still went to work. I learned it could snow in December and not melt until April. And I learned I needed a shovel just for my car.
I also learned that in Wisconsin, we don’t let winter weather stop us, not from enjoying sporting events, not from going to street festivals, not from fishing or hiking or being outdoors and not ever from drinking. So it wasn’t surprising that the domes that Cafe Benelux installed on its rooftop patio sold out in about 18 hours.
Because of course Wisconsinites would want to hang out in a clear plastic tent in winter, and I wanted to be one of them.
The experience
The Lux Domes are plastic, igloo-like tents. Lowlands Group installed six at Cafe Benelux in the Third Ward, and it’s renting them out for 90 minutes to parties of up to eight people for $200. The rental includes a beverage selection and a souvenir mug.
Dan Herwig is the director of branded marketing for Lowlands Group. He came up with the idea for the domes after Cafe Benelux’s ice bar last year.
“They were bars carved of ice, thousands of pounds of it,” he said. “And as cold as it is in Wisconsin, it only lasted two weeks. And with St. Paul Fish Co. at the Public Market and Wicked Hop, we packed the area.”
So Herwig started looking for something similar that would last a little longer. He saw these igloo-like domes in New York City and London and thought it could work here. Herwig reached out to the manufacturer in England and ordered some for Cafe Benelux.
The six igloos fit perfectly on the restaurant’s rooftop. There’s just enough room for a walkway to each dome, lined with heated, non-slip rugs.
On Friday night, we were the first people in our dome, which still smelled brand-new.
The dome interior was decked with twinkle lights that changed color and outfitted with furniture we recognized from Ikea. There were blankets in case we got cold, and air vents we could open in case we got hot. A low-voltage space heater was on, and the domes were at a comfortable 60 degrees.
It was cozy. Eight people fit just about right.
The weather Friday night was mild. It wasn’t the best test for how weatherproof the domes are, but it was great for us. Actually, it got warm (up to 65 degrees on the thermometer we brought). We steamed up the plastic, and we opened the vents for a few minutes. We didn’t need our coats, hats or gloves.
The food we ordered was set on a coffee table and is not included in the $200 fee. A cheeseboard cost $32 and the seafood platter was $48. The food menu includes shareable options like meat, cheese, oysters, seafood and dessert.
Two carafes kept our mulled wine hot. There was enough wine for us to each get two mugs’ worth.
Cafe Benelux has several hot drinks available: hot cocoa (with or without Rumchata), hot toddies or coffee. You also could order beer, sparkling wine or Prosecco. Prices ranged between $30 (for alcohol-free cocoa) to $65 for Prosecco, and each serves eight. (Only the first order of drinks is included in the $200 rental.)
Everything is shareable, and you order for a group. Although the weather was nice for us, on a colder night, you wouldn’t want to open the dome frequently to order more food and drinks (or go to the bathroom). The server checked in about halfway through our time, and we ordered more beer.
The Lux Domes are booked from now until Dec. 23. Herwig said that the company will release more dates in the next couple weeks. Right now, Cafe Benelux is renting out the domes Friday through Sunday and only in the evenings.
“We wanted to run them for a week or two to see if we needed to make adjustments,” Herwig said. “The domes during the day are quite pleasant as well, so we are considering moving some of the time slots forward and reducing some of the later time slots.”
Visit cafebenelux.com/luxdomes or call (414) 501-2500 for more information, and sign up for the email newsletter to find out first when new dates are available.