our history

Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza and Grille is the newest creation of Britton and Sara Unkefer, longtime seasonal Door County residents. While living in Milwaukee for the past six years with two little boys, Levi and Ivo, they began looking to fulfill their dream, returning to Door County to raise their family and own their own restaurant. In March 2008 the Unkefer family purchased Digger’s a longtime landmark of Fish Creek, a place where family traditions were born. Sara remembers Digger’s as the favorite place where her family always came year after year while they were camping at Peninsula State Park. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the restaurant the two, together with the much appreciated help of friends and family, renovated the restaurant and gave it a facelift, adding a wood-fired oven as the centerpiece. The menu was the other change, focusing on fresh ingredients utilizing their culinary talents, while keeping the family friendly, fun, affordable concept of Digger’s. They received an overwhelming, positive response to the new look and taste that they created, but then the question was asked, with all of the changes are you going to change the name?

In 2009 they reopened the restaurant as the Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza and Grille, a fresh new restaurant with, not only great wood-fired pizzas, salads, sandwiches and burgers, but also a new attitude toward giving to their community, using sustainable products and creating an affordable restaurant using the best ingredients available. These concepts and fundamentals have always held true throughout Britton and Sara’s career.

Britton started his culinary career at his families’ restaurant, Nelson’s Hall, on Washington Island at the age of thirteen. After the family sold the restaurant, he attended and graduated from New England Culinary Institute in Essex, Vermont. He went on to be the head baker for Wolfgang Puck at the acclaimed Postrio in San Francisco where he first worked with a wood-fired oven. He went on to be executive chef at the Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Oregon where he implemented local, seasonal products into the menu. Returning to his roots, he became Chef de Cuisine of the four diamond Christies in Appleton and then back to Door County where he opened the restaurant for Horseshoe Bay Golf Club as executive chef. He met Sara this summer and together they went to Lucerne, Switzerland and received training in European Regional Cuisine. After Switzerland they moved to Milwaukee and Britton earned the position of executive chef and general manager at Sticks and Stones in Brookfield followed by the position of Corporate Executive Chef for Water Street Brewery Restaurant Group. There he oversaw eight restaurants, catering division, and festival division.

Sara started her culinary adventures growing food in the gardens of Door County. The baking aspect of cooking captured her and she moved to Petaluma, California to apprentice with Alan Scott of Ovencrafters in wood-fired building and baking. She assisted in rejuvenating the baking program at Headlands Art Institute in San Francisco and dabbled in pastries with Elizabeth Pruett and sold bread in Berkeley with Chad Robertson who now own San Fransico’s well known Tartine Bakery. She returned to Door County to implement her knowledge and met Britton. She ventured with him to Lucerne, Switzerland where she received a degree in European pastries and chocolate. In Milwaukee she furthered her education and completed the master cake decorating course at Wilton in Chicago and with Colette Peters out of New York. She opened the Cake Lady and Petite Pastries in 2004 and quickly built her reputation in cakes.

Purchasing the restaurant has been a great opportunity for the Unkefers to implement their ideals of sustainability, fresh ingredients and utilization of local growers in an affordable, family friendly restaurant that everyone can appreciate. They are happy to be living in Door County again, sharing their culinary experience and their restaurant with the community they call home. They thank you for your support and your participation in their dream. There’s just something about Door County, once it gets into your heart, you just can’t let go…