Waukesha's iconic Gasthaus restaurant demolished; new strip mall will replace it

Scott Peterson | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

During the past week, the iconic Gasthaus restaurant at one of the main entrances to Waukesha off Highway T was demolished to make way for new development.

Backhoes knocked most of the remaining structure down Thursday, June 21, to make way for a strip mall that will house a Panda Express, a fast-food Chinese restaurant, and a coffee shop.

With its unique chalet-style architecture, the Gasthaus, a fine-dining restaurant owned by the Weissgerber family, welcomed residents to Waukesha for decades, but the family sold it and removed stained-glass windows and other embellishments, before turning it over to a third party.

The Gasthaus opened in 1983 and closed in June 2016.

The new strip mall is expected to open before the end of the year.