Get outside (and fed) at Camp Beef Butter

Beef Butter BBQ celebrates beer, brats and bands with a new outdoor concept.

May 31, 2021 5:00 PM

Sam Jones,

Posted: May 31, 2021 5:00 PM

Updated: May 31, 2021 3:24 PM

by Sam Jones

An aerial view of Camp Beef Butter, located at 5407 County Highway M in Westport
Photo courtesy of Camp Beef Butter

An aerial view of Camp Beef Butter, located at 5407 County Highway M in Westport
Photo courtesy of Camp Beef Butter

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The entrance to Camp Beef Butter, owned by Patrick Riha of Beef Butter BBQ
Photo courtesy of Camp Beef Butter

The entrance to Camp Beef Butter, owned by Patrick Riha of Beef Butter BBQ
Photo courtesy of Camp Beef Butter

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Patrick Riha pictured at Camp Beef Butter. Riha started Beef Butter BBQ as a food cart before opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant on North Sherman Avenue. Camp Beef Butter is Riha's newest barbecue venture.
Photo courtesy of Camp Beef Butter

Patrick Riha pictured at Camp Beef Butter. Riha started Beef Butter BBQ as a food cart before opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant on North Sherman Avenue. Camp Beef Butter is Riha's newest barbecue venture.
Photo courtesy of Camp Beef Butter

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A full grill at Camp Beef Butter
Photo courtesy of Camp Beef Butter

Patrick Riha, owner of Beef Butter BBQ, has been really, really excited to get outside. For months, he has been planning his business’s offshoot, outdoor entertainment extravaganza, Camp Beef Butter, and now the time has come for barbecue enthusiasts, musicians and lawn chair loungers to flock to this amped-up lot out in Westport.

“We came up with the idea of Camp Beef Butter after the long winter and COVID-19 year where everyone was locked down and could not really get out and enjoy the outside and other people,” Riha says. “I saw that empty lot on Highway M that used to be the Old White House, and thought that was close to Madison, and yet because it is on 40 acres of wetland, you really feel like you are outside camping.”

Open on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 9 p.m., Camp Beef Butter hosts live musicians like DJ Dutch and The Ryan McGrath Band while serving up award-winning barbecue. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own chairs to chill in, and if you want a hands-on experience, folks can purchase a grill kit with brats and sides to warm up over the campfire.

“After the lockdown, people have a need to get out and socialize, but in a safe place,” says Riha. “The weather is just starting to get warm enough in the evening to enjoy, and people have gone over a year without in-person entertainment and socializing in a safe environment. What better way to do it than outside?”

Camp Beef Butter has a best-of-both-worlds feel, with a rustic outdoorsy vibe alongside a 22-foot jumbotron, suped-up speakers and a bathroom trailer. S’mores kits and adult beverages are in abundance, and Riha and staff have booked performers throughout the summer.

“Let’s start by socializing outdoors in the woods, with open air, fire pits, picnic tables, bands, beer … and award-winning Beef Butter brisket,” Riha says. Riha started Beef Butter BBQ as a food cart before opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant on North Sherman Avenue.

To view the Camp Beef Butter menu, band lineup or for more information, visit campbeefbutter.com