It was late January when The Inn opened its doors at 110 Cottonwood Ave. in Hartland, introducing the area to a fresh, modern menu that’s influenced by seasonal Mediterranean cuisine while also hearkening back to the ancient culinary tradition of wood-fired cooking. 

The charming restaurant offered up an aesthetic that was both classic and modern, drawing from the character of the building’s original brick, while creating a luxurious yet comfortable atmosphere that matched the thoughtfulness and simple elegance of the food.

For owners Matthew and Madeline Armistead, the restaurant represented an opportunity for the couple to chart their own course and share their years of experience with a new audience. But it was also an opportunity to continue the legacy of hospitality in a building which had been hosting guests for over 100 years. 

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From California to Hartland

It was June of 2019 when a fire broke out in the kitchen of the longtime restaurant on Cottonwood Avenue in Hartland. Damage from the fire closed down the former Max Meier’s Hartland Inn, bringing the future of the historic eatery into question.

Built in 1906, the building had been a staple on Hartland’s main street, serving as a hotel for its first 60 years under the ownership of the Preston and Milski families and Pabst Brewing Company. In 1967, it was purchased by Margrit and Max Meier, who reopened it as the Hartland Inn, serving Wisconsin supper club staples infused with elements of their Swiss heritage. Even after Max’s passing in 1998, Magrit carried on their legacy, operating the restaurant for another two decades before the fire brought things to a halt.

Meanwhile, the restaurant’s future owners, Matthew and Madeline Armistead, were living in Southern California, building their careers in the hospitality industry.

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Matthew, a UK-born chef whose career included work at the iconic River Cafe in London and Babington House in Somerset, England, traveled to the U.S. to take a job with Soho House in the late 2000s. For ten years, he worked with them and then with various restaurants in the Los Angeles area before leaving to assist a friend in opening Cassia, an eatery by the Rustic Canyon Restaurant Group.

It was there that he met his (future) wife, Madeline (Maddie). A native of Brookfield, Wisconsin, she had cut her teeth in the hospitality industry in Milwaukee before moving to Los Angeles to complete a wine management program at the University of California - Los Angeles. Coincidentally, she had also been working for Rustic Canyon and was working on the opening of Ester’s Wine Shop & Bar, a venue that happened to be adjacent to Cassia. 

The two worked together in LA for a number of years. They started a family together. And by the by, they began to realize that they wanted to open a restaurant on their own. The prospects were slim in Los Angeles, where costs ran high, so they began talking about making a move to the Midwest.

“Around that same time, a family friend reached out,” says Maddie. “He and his wife had recently retired and they offered to buy a building where we could establish our own restaurant. They’d been successful in their career and they wanted to assist us in being successful.. It was an offer that we couldn’t refuse.”

In 2021, the Armisteads moved to Lake Country and embarked on the journey to restore the former Hartland Inn.

A true transformation

“It was important to us that we had a strong aesthetic,” notes Maddie as she described the design of the space. “The food, the wine, the aesthetic. It’s all a personal expression of ourselves and we felt strongly that it needed to fit together.” 

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Initially, they began working with a construction team, but quickly realized that they needed someone to handle design. From there, they consulted with an East Coast-based design company that helped put together a mood board. 

“They found THREE SIXTY for us to work with locally,” Maddie says. “Our vision was mostly there, but they assisted us in so many ways – from fabricating the table and the millwork to building the bar and the banquette seating. They also sourced the lighting and other key elements that really made the space what it is.”

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But those weren’t the only key elements that came together to form the look and feel of the space.

“I was insistent upon an open kitchen and the warm oak floors,” says Matthew, who chose to install two combination gas and wood-fired ovens for the kitchen.

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From there, they chose a color scheme of varied deep, complementary tones for the walls, beautiful wallpapers and various accents including couch-like seating and pillows.

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“Ultimately we wanted it to feel luxurious, but comfortable,” says Maddie. “We wanted people to feel like they were walking into our home.”

Those personal elements came together with art and pottery from Harbour Honest Goods in Oconomowoc, along with little extras like daily live flower bouquets from a local purveyor.

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On the menu

Matthew, whose career began in the UK, says his early experiences helped to shape his cooking style. “For me there’s nothing better than a home-cooked meal and a great glass of wine,” he says. “And I’m just following the tradition I grew up with in the UK and that I’ve adhered to throughout my career. It’s about staying simple and using the best ingredients possible.”

Maddie nods. “We also wanted guests’ experience at The Inn to be memorable, and the menu reflects a flexibility that reflects the many ways we hope our guests will choose to use it.. We want people to see us as a place where they can come in and have a pizza at the bar or bring the family together for dinner. We also want them to think of it as a place where they can celebrate a special occasion.”

The goal is for the menu to over-deliver, notes Matthew. Overall, the concepts are simple, but the dishes are intentional and made from well sourced ingredients that are locally sourced whenever possible.

“It’s country-style cuisine, made from scratch and cooked from the heart,” he says. “Our bolognese is made from housemade veal stock. It’s long-simmered and we’re not taking shortcuts. We also make focaccia every day, which we drown in great olive oil and top with Maldon sea salt. Things are simple, but the quality is high.”

Housemade fries are cooked in beef tallow to give them depth of flavor. Meanwhile, steak tartare is hand-cut and served with grilled bread, creme fraiche and caviar. 

The wood-fired ovens also shape the dishes on the menu. Their housemade pizza, which closely resembles Neapolitan-style pies, is made with housemade dough that’s been slow-fermented for three days, giving it a superior texture and depth of flavor. Toppings range from classic margherita to mixed mushroom with teleggio, confit garlic, lemon and thyme; and lamb pizza with shaved asparagus, fontina and marinara.

There are also dishes like wood-roasted branzino, served with confit tomatoes, capers, olives and spinach; beef filet with potato al forno, red wine jus and watercress; or grilled leg of lamb served with sauteed snap peas, chipolini, mint and harissa.  View the full menu online.

Maddie notes that their beverage program reflects much the same philosophy as the food menu. Wines come from organic, biodynamic and sustainable vineyards and small-production, family-owned wineries. They’ve also tried their best to avoid additives in the spirits they carry at the bar.

“We’re very much enjoying what we do,” says Matthew. “We love the community. We’ve been welcomed here and – in many ways – we’re the stewards of a building here that has been feeding people for a very long time. It’s gratifying work.”

The Inn is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended, but walk-ins are always welcome.

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