Meet the Team
Theresa Nemetz
Founder & Chief Experience Officer
Hostess with the Mostess #1
‘Never Say Never’ Gal
Favorite MKE Bites: Sciortino’s Bakery for tutu cookies, Canfora for spumoni cookies – is there any question why the Christmas Around Bakery Bus is my favorite?
Favorite MKE Custard: Any historic stand for vanilla custard because why discriminate?
Favorite MKE Brew: I prefer a wine & truffle pairing from Indulgence Chocolatiers over a brew.
I combined my love for Milwaukee and my husband’s love for great food to create Milwaukee Food & City Tours in 2008. I was inspired to do so by my great-grandparents, Guiseppi and Rosa, who 100 years ago immigrated to Milwaukee from Santa Flavia, Sicily. Milwaukee has a rich Italian, German, Irish and Polish immigrant history, and it is an honor to be able to share the stories of the exceptional immigrants that brought our city to life to our tour attendees.
I am a Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA), an alumna of Future Milwaukee, a 40 Under Forty by the Milwaukee Business Journal, and have served as a culinary speaker at a number of tourism-related conferences. We even won the Governor’s Rising Star in Tourism Award and were awarded the inaugural DearMKE award by VISIT Milwaukee. Twelve years in, I continue to learn about tourism. I always have my finger on the pulse of what is happening in tourism on a global and national basis. My dream is to be the first tour operator to bring self-driving technology to tourism in Wisconsin.
Caitlin Weitzel
Custom Tour Visionary & Trip Planner
Hostess with the Mostess #2
Singing Tour Guide
Favorite MKE Bites: Sciortino’s Bakery for cannoli (or as my mom calls them, “holy cannoli”), The Soup Market for the African Peanut Soup.
Favorite Milwaukee Beer: Lakefront Brewery for the Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Milwaukee Brewing Company for the Weekend at Louie’s.
Favorite MKE Custard: Palermo Lemon at Kopp’s Frozen Custard.
I was hooked on Milwaukee Food & City tours in the fall of 2014 when a friend sent me a job posting for a Christmas caroling tour guide weekend gig. I instantly applied; fast forward three Christmas seasons, and here I am as that happy singing elf on the Christmas Lights & Desserts tour!
For the two years, I have been serving full-time as the Custom Tour Visionary & Trip Planner, or jack-of-all-trades! I work with all of our private and custom tours to ensure that each one is special. I also plan our trips from Milwaukee to other places beyond our city. My favorite moments include working on special anniversary tours, welcoming group travelers from all over the country, and escorting an overnight trip to Amish country in Indiana. It has been inspiring to work with partners all over Milwaukee to show of this very delicious city.
I moved to Milwaukee in 2011 for graduate school and a job at Marquette University and have called it home ever since. My husband Greg and I live in West Allis with our overly spoiled rescue dog, Charlie. In the summer, we head outside as often as possible on Wisconsin camping and hiking trips. We love frequenting the many breweries and festivals in Milwaukee all year round. I love to be creative and can be found singing in a local choir and taking classes at Cream City Clay.
Jacalyn Gillis
Destination Specialist
Hostess with the Mostess #3
The Milwaukee Expert
Favorite MKE Bites: Steamed Pork Buns from Braise in the Fifth Ward; Fried Chicken from Tandem; Friday Fish Fry at Company Brewing.
Favorite MKE Sweets: The Seasonal Pastries at Miss Molly’s.
Favorite Milwaukee Beer: Motto from Good City Brewing.
Favorite MKE Custard: Chocolate with their signature wafer cookies at Kopp’s Frozen Custard.
When I spied a job posting for Milwaukee Food and City Tours in the Fall of 2017, I knew this was the job for me. My passions are food and travel. I love sharing our wonderful city with tourists and locals every day. I work with our outstanding public tours, making sure the restaurants, buses, and tour guides are all ready to welcome our visitors and show them a fabulous time.
I’m a born and raised Milwaukean. After traveling the world in college, I decided there was no place like Milwaukee. My husband Lann and I live in Wauwatosa with our pups, Kirby and Gus. When we’re not eating our way through the city; we like to see Wisconsin via bike and explore new cities around the world. On a typical Saturday morning you can find us at the nearest farmers market!
Karen Fetherston
Destination Specialist
Hostess with the Mostess #4
The Woman with Wanderlust
Favorite MKE Bites: Oh my? I have to choose? Zaffiro’s cracker crust pizza, Polonez pierogis, or a plate of Mader’s sauerbraten and spatzle top the list.
Favorite MKE Sweets: All. Of. Them.
Favorite Milwaukee Beer: There’s something special about an ice cold Sprecher root “beer.”
Favorite MKE Custard: Acai bowls or vegan ice cream from On the Bus
I get my love of food from my father, so it was a natural choice 13 years ago to start gifting him with food tour experiences from a brand new company in town called Milwaukee Food Tours. My dad and I enjoyed many tours together. I would always leave the tours with new facts about Milwaukee, new places to dine, and a sense that I just HAD to be a part of the team!
So, I started a hobby job or, as I call it, a “jobby” working with Milwaukee Food Tours guiding people around the sights and bites of MKE. It got even better when tours started in Racine so I could showcase the best food and history that my hometown has to offer. Next step? I took the leap into a full-time role arranging, recruiting, and preparing people to Travel Deliciously with us. I can’t wait to show people the world! I’m an avid traveler and lucky enough to have experienced fabulous destinations. My favorite vacation spots are amazing natural destinations like Hawaii and the National Parks in the US and Canada. My love for adventure and my family ancestry has also taken me to Italy, Denmark, and Germany. I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list!
I’m a southeastern Wisconsin gal, born and bred. I was born in Kenosha, live in Racine, but spend so much time in MKE that I feel like a Milwaukeean. My favorite thing is hosting people from near and far and all over the world and hearing them say things like, “I never knew that!” or “You live in such a wonderful place.” Yes. Yes I do!
Wade Nemetz
Official Taste Tester
Keeper of the Green Chariots
Proud CDL Card Holder
Master of All Things Tech Support
Favorite MKE Bites: Caradaro Club for Milwaukee-style thin-crust SMO pizza.
Favorite MKE Beer: Any hidden gem featured on our Craft Brewery & Cocktails tour.
It was during a food tour in New York City while sampling falafel that I said, “We should show off Milwaukee’s neighborhoods this way too!” The rest, as they say, is history. Not only do we show off Milwaukee’s neighborhoods, but we focus on showing off Milwaukee’s hidden gems on each of our tours. Seeking out the first pizzeria ever licensed in not only Milwaukee, but Wisconsin? Come on our Pizza Bus. Want to have the most authentic tamale in town? Join us on our Tacos & Tequila tour. Looking a classic Milwaukee tavern experience? Hop on our Pre-Prohibition Historic Bar Tour.
I often describe Milwaukee as “Small-waukee.” It’s an honor to get to work with and introduce so many Milwaukee partners featured on our tours to our tour attendees, and such a joy to develop relationships with our many repeat tour attendees. Our goal is that each guest walks away with the best impression and an understanding of why this is our home. As we continue to grow, and add overnight and international trips to our offerings, we are excited to invite others to travel with us to discover this same sense of place in Wisconsin and beyond.
Enzo & Rose Nemetz
Directors of Work/Life Balance
Budding Foodies
Future Tour Guides
Milwaukee Food & City Tours is truly a family affair, with Enzo and Rose serving as our Directors of Work/Life Balance. We love exploring Milwaukee and seeing the city through the eyes of our children, exploring our amazing park system while relaxing at one of the many beer gardens, playing at great museums or along the spectacular lakefront, and taking classes at treasures such as the Milwaukee County Zoo and Schlitz Audubon. Our budding foodie, Enzo, is already a VPN pizza connoisseur like his daddy, and has yet to meet a mussel he hasn’t loved. Our Tour Guide in Training, Rose, already co-lead her first tour at a mere 6-weeks old with momma and received TripAdvisor 5-star reviews for being all things adorable. We anxiously awaited her first word, hopeful that perhaps it would be our favorite – “Milwaukee,” but it turned out to be our second favorite word, “pizza.”
Tour Guides
Storytellers. Educators. Leaders. Logistics Managers. Masters of Flexibility. Navigators. History Lovers. Public Speakers. These are the qualities of our award winning team of tour guides that will have you discovering the sights and savoring the flavors of Milwaukee’s most historic neighborhoods and delicious eateries!
Our team includes professional photographers who lead our Photo Walk from behind a camera lens; cooks and home brewers showcasing Milwaukee’s cuisine and craft industries, and educators and lovers of history showing off the sights of Milwaukee. We are proud of two pieces of commentary often provided by our attendees, “I’ve lived here my entire life and never explored Milwaukee like I did today,” and “I was expecting a tasting but this was a full meal!” Whether you are a Milwaukeean, visiting the city on your own or traveling as part of a group, you will not be disappointed.
Want to Work For Us?
Do you have a strong appreciation for Milwaukee? Do you have a high energy and confidence level and can lead tours in a witty and intelligent fashion? Do you have an ability to communicate and interact well with others? We’re always in search of excellent tour guides. If you answered YES to these questions and have a passion for food or photography, you may be the ideal candidate to join our team! To apply, please send a letter of interest and qualifications to theresa@milwaukeefoodtours.com
Donation Requests
If you work or volunteer for an area non-profit, we invite you to request a gift card to be used as an auction item or raffle prize. Please email info@milwaukeefoodtours.com with the request on letterhead. Be sure that the request includes the tax-identification number of the non-profit in addition to the mailing address for where the gift card should be sent. Please note that phone calls are not encouraged – your organization will receive a response in your mailbox from us within 14 days of receipt of request.