Lutze Biergarten to Open Cinco De Mayo

Lutze Biergarten, 3 Second street, will open Thursday, 5/4 at 5:00pm (date change due to weather), with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a giant Cinco De Mayo-themed festival.

The view

Owned by Mack-Cali Realty, Lutze Biergarten is located right on the Hudson River and will offer a selection of German and craft beers, a full bar, and food from Bacon Me Crazy and seafood spot Jake's Downtown - including a raw bar on the weekends, and beautiful views of the Manhattan skyline.

I had some initial concerns about the location of the beer garden, the size, etc given that it's right on the waterfront, near offices and residences, and by a beautiful stretch of public walkway but Ilene Jablonski, SVP of Marketing at Mack-Cali was kind enough to answer all my questions and gave me some reassurance about their new venture. The garden is estimated to hold around 2,000 people and for special events - like the Grand Opening - they'll make use of an additional parking lot to accommodate overflow and increase capacity. The beer garden is also set-up in a relatively stand-alone space and designed in a way so as not to impact the public esplanade or other outside space around the waterfront. Instead, it's an additional way to enjoy it - anyone can go enjoy the garden which is considered a public space - just now with the addition of food and drinks. Proceeds from the garden will also go to benefit Jersey City causes although specifics aren't currently decided.

Build Out in Progress

Opening Day Festivities will bring over 100 vendors from all over to help celebrate. The actual ribbon-cutting is at 4:30pm and then the garden will be open to the public. There will be a bouncy-house and face-painting for kids, food from vendors like Dark Side of the Moo, Angry Archie's, The Cow and the Curd, Maddalena's, Empanada Guy, The Guac Spot, and sponsors Dos Equis and 1800 Tequila helping to make sure there's to plenty to drink, along with music and entertainment. Then to cap it all off, the night will end with a fireworks display.

The beer garden's hours are subject to change, but for now, they're anticipating being open from 4-10pm Monday through Thursday, from 12pm-2am on Friday/Saturday, and from 12-10pm on Sunday. The garden will be open seasonally only, from May through October.