OCONOMOWOC — For more than about 145 years, the Victorian mansion sitting atop a hill overlooking Fowler Lake has welcomed guests, whether it was the original builders who used the brick home as a summer escape or more recent visitors who stayed there for a romantic weekend getaway.
The latest owners of the mansion, Joe and Kathryn Brisk, appreciate its history and have begun a rebranding of the inn to reflect the time when Oconomowoc was a vacation spot for the elite from Chicago and St. Louis. The couple have changed the bed and breakfast’s name from the Inn at Pine Terrace to Mon Bijou, which is also what Peter and Henry Schuttler referred to their summer home when they built it in 1879. Meaning "My Jewel" in French, the Brisks want Mon Bijou to dazzle their guests. "We like to be a part of what draws people to come to Oconomowoc. We want to be the place to go where you want to celebrate a special event here in Lake Country," said Joe Brisk.
The Brisks bought the property at 351 E. Lisbon Road at the end of February from David Byczek and Sydney Werner, who after purchasing the house a few years ago spent about $1 million updating and decorating the house inside and out. It was closed during that work and reopened to guests in July 2022.
The Brisks are no strangers to historic homes. They also purchased and restored the beauty of the home that housed the Masonic Temple on North Lake Road on the isthmus.
While the inn may have been recently updated, Joe Brisk said they are taking the weeks leading up to the next guests in early May to add their own touch, which includes some painting to give it an airier vibe.
"It is grand, almost intimidating," he said of the approximately 10,000-square-foot mansion. "(We’re) just lightening it up a bit."
The property is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1920, the property was sold and became Pine Terrace Resort, and then in 1986 it was purchased again and $1.5 million was invested in it to restore much of its lost Victorian features, according to the inn’s prior website. Some of the changes to the inn completed by Byczek and Werner, included a commercial kitchen and an outdoor patio area.
The couple plans to be hands-on at the inn. Kathryn Brisk plans to spend a substantial amount of time at the inn to greet guests and manage the inn’s operations.
A new website is being created for Mon Bijou, .