OCONTO – As one early indication building a new business in Oconto might not go smoothly, Oconto business owner Courtney Sowle recalls how the city cut down a line of 20 to 30 trees on her property in 2019, saying the land belonged to the city.
“That was the start of the hostility towards us,” Sowle said.
Sowle hired a lawyer to resolve the issue and recovered land the city grabbed, but the incident foreshadowed other problems she would face as she built a new outdoor beer garden, called The Yard, providing a place to socialize and enjoy a game of horseshoes, volleyball or Connect 4. The Yard beer garden opened at 116 Holtwood, next to Holtwood Park, in 2022, but the city denied Sowle’s liquor license in April 2024. A few months later, the business became licensed at a Brewing and Distilling location at 142 Huron, the site of the old feed mill…