Trocadero to close ... but not permanently

Trocadero will close its doors following a weekend of special Valentine's Day-themed events to undergo a major renovation. The restaurant, known for its outdoor dining and weekend brunches, will reopen sometime later this spring.

"We've been realizing its just time to utilize the space better and to give the place the love it really needs," co-owner Michael Eitel says. "This little café has seen a massive amount of traffic, multiple changes, and a fair amount of abuse over the last decade. We realized that doing a spring tune up was just not quite enough."

Eitel and Eric Wagner -- the duo behind the Diablos Rojos Restaurant Group -- say they plan to reopen Trocadero as quickly as possible, but they estimate the work will take several weeks.

"Once we really started looking at what the space needed to have done, we realized it's basically like opening a whole new restaurant," says Eitel. "We see this as a major opportunity to get ready for the next 10 years."

Trocadero will host a number of events before it closes, including a fundraiser for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin on Thursday, Feb. 11. Also featured is a weekend-long Valentine's Menu and a special "Valentine's Brunch" on Sunday, Feb. 14.