The Howard closes cafe, adds The Lanes hours as it refocuses on events in 2022 | Streetwise – Oshkosh Northwestern

OSHKOSH Coffee shop fanatics will have to look elsewhere for their caffeine fix.

The Cafe at The Howard, 405 Washington Ave., permanently closed Dec. 18. The Howard Operations Director Carol Velascosaid itwill be transformed into a barthat will only be open during ticketed and private events.

"We have been receiving a ton of requests on utilizing The Howard in different ways," she said. "We realized the community does have that (coffee shop) fulfilled in other elements in the area."

The Howard Cafeoriginally opened in 2018 to provide something new to the community, Velasco said.She said the caferemained open despite it being "a bit slower." Instead of being an asset as intended, she felt ittookaway from other businesses that specialize in coffee as a full-time service.

RELATED:The Howard, Oshkosh's newest event space, to open Sept. 21 in former Eagle's Club building

RELATED:The Howard opens 'The Lanes' bowling alley for an upscale night out | Streetwise

"It's an opportunity for us to send people's business to other great, local cafes," she said. "That's what they specialize and focus on."

The Howard, meanwhile, plans to focus on hosting more corporate, private and ticketed events in 2022 and beyond, Velasco said. Italso wants to focus on food service, including small-scale catering, based on feedback from community members and potential customers.

"This gives our staff time to focus on some of those initiatives," she said.

Remodeling the cafe into a bar adds versatility for those ticketed and private events, Velasco said.For example, a wedding could utilize it as a separate cocktail lounge between the ceremony and reception.

"We want to transition to a bar and event space to fill a void that the community doesn't really have," she said.

The bar will only be open during private and ticketed events.

The Lanes upscale bowling alley and bar in the basement of The Howard remains open to the public. Starting next week, Velasco saidthey are adding open bowling hours on Thursdays.

The Lanes arenow open from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Thursdays as well as 4:30 p.m. to midnight on Fridays, September to April. Reservations can be made online at thehowardoshkosh.com/thelanes.

Siblings Carey Sharpe, Jenna Golem and Ben Johnson bought the former Fraternal Order of the Eagles headquarters building and transformed it into The Howard, which opened with the cafe in September 2018. The Lanes opened in January 2019.

Contact Katy Macek at kmacek@thenorthwestern.comor 920-426-6658. Follow her on Twitter @KatherineMacek.

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The Howard closes cafe, adds The Lanes hours as it refocuses on events in 2022 | Streetwise - Oshkosh Northwestern