Jack Fennimore
Now Serving

Restaurant Coming to New Bay View Hotel

And Horny Goat bar will close after six years in business.

By - Oct 7th, 2015 01:50 pm
2535 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Photo taken in 2005 courtesy of the City of Milwaukee.

2535 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Photo taken in 2005 courtesy of the City of Milwaukee.

Last week, a new, friendly, upscale (or should I say downscale?) micro-hotel was announced to open in 2016 at 2535 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. The seven-room micro-hotel in the 11,500 square foot building will also feature a new restaurant, said the project’s registered agent Charles Bailey in a press release.

There are no details on the new restaurant just yet, but Bailey said that he is optimistic that he will find a restaurant operator who can offer top-shelf food and drink options, given the dining talent in the city. Bailey also said that the location “takes advantage” of the abundance of dining, tavern and theater options along S. Kinnickinnic Ave. “Bay View is infused with the surging momentum I saw in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago years ago, when I lived there – except without the crime,” Bailey said. Nice.

We’ll report more details on the planned restaurant as we learn them.

Nino’s Southern Sides Express

In mid-September, an express-only version of Nino’s Southern Sides known, as you might expect, as Nino’s Southern Sides Express, opened at 3070 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., according to Nino’s Southern Sides’s Facebook page.

The original Nino’s Southern Sides opened at 4475 N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood last fall, as we wrote, and is owned by Valerie Daniels-Carter, who indicate last year that an MLK location was also in the works. She is also the owner of V & J Foods Inc. which operates many Burger King, Pizza Hut, Haagen-Dazs and Coffee Beanery locations. Nino’s express features fried chicken, pork chops, hot links, nachos and wings and is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m.

Wine & Dine Wisconsin

Have you ever wanted to try everything that Milwaukee dining has to offer but never had the time nor the budget to do so? Then head down to the Wisconsin Center at 400 W. Wisconsin Ave. this Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. for Wine & Dine Wisconsin. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, you can sample food, beer and wine from over 170 exhibitors from restaurants and other local producers all around the Milwaukee area.

Highlights include the Critic’s Choice event Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. where you can sample food from 17 of dining critic Carol Deptolla’s top 30 best restaurants, sushi demonstrations by Rice N Roll Bistro and figure skating demonstrations on Sunday with a cooking demonstration and cookbook signing by Olympic medalist Brian Boitano. You can check out a full schedule on the event’s website.

Tickets for Saturday are $50 in advance and $60 at the door. If you want to attend the Critic’s choice event along with the rest of Saturday’s events, then it’s $85 in advance and $90 at the door. Tickets for Sunday are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. You can buy advance tickets either here or at select Pick ‘n Save stores. Critic’s Choice tickets are only available through the website.

Other Dining Events Around Town 

For those looking for a more traditional dining event, you can come to three different restaurants for just that, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

c. 1880, located at 1100 S. 1st St. in Walker’s Point, will host a six-course dinner on Oct. 7th with Lori Fredrich, OnMilwaukee writer and author of the newly published “Milwaukee Food: A History of Cream City Cuisine”. Chefs Thomas Hauck of c. 1880, Dan Jacobs of Odd Duck, Dan Van Rite of Hinterland, Justin Aprahamian of Sanford, Paul Zerkel of Goodkind and Justin Carlisle of Ardent will be preparing the dinner, which includes Zerkel’s lavender-anchovy leg of lamb with rotisserie vegetables and Chardonnay vinaigrette and Aprahamian’s cured and seared salmon with radish, roe, buttered potatoes and dill-licorice emulsion. Dinner is $110, and includes wine parings and a copy of Fredrich’s book. You can reserve seats by contacting the restaurant at (414) 431-9271 or reservations@c1880.com.

Schlitz Park restaurant The Brown Bottle, located at 221 W. Galena St., is serving a five course dinner with Potosi Brewing beers on Oct. 10th. Chef Ben Hudson will be making the dishes, including scallops over creamed corn puree with frisee and rosemary brown butter served with Good Old Potosi golden ale. Dinner is $50 (with an $80 discount for a table of eight, at $320). You can make reservations by contacting the restaurant at (414) 539-6450.

Sanford, located at 1547 N. Jackson St., is hosting the last installment of the Beer Co.-Lab series featuring limited-release beer on Oct. 12th. Joe Muench of Story Hill BKC, Maxie’s and Blue’s Egg; Bradford Shovlin of Smyth; Carlisle and Aprahamian are preparing the dishes to go with the beers. Beer’s include Company’s Mary’s Fondest, a “new wet-hop lager with fresh hops from Fondy Farm in Port Washington,” and Central Waters’ Headless Heron, a “Barrel-aged pumpkin spice ale,” according to the Journal Sentinel. Dinner is $85 and you can make reservations by calling (414) 276-9608.

Lowlands Brewing Collaborative

The Lowlands Brewing Collaborative was formed recently and is brewing a new beer for the Lowlands Grand Cafes. The collaborative is an initiative by the Lowlands Brewing Company – composed of partners Lowlands Restaurant Group and Brouwerij Van Steenberge in Ertvelde, Belgium – which plans to expand partnerships to local and international breweries, according to OnMilwaukee.

“We love bier,” Lowland’s director of brand and marketing Dan Herwig told OnMilwaukee, “and when we travel around the world looking for new biers to offer, we run into like-minded people who become fast friends. The Collaborative was founded to give our friends ­– who just happened to be world-class brewers – a platform to express their craft.”

The new beer in question is the Hollander IPA, which was brewed in collaboration with Brouwerij The Musketeers in Ursel, Belgium. Fredrick said it will appeal to “both hop-heads and Belgian malt lovers” and contains American hops despite being brewed in Belgium. It will be served exclusively at Lowlands’ Grand Cafes.

The next partnership is with Central Waters Brewing in the town of Amherst in Portage County, Wisconsin, where the collaboration will brew a quadruple-style bier for release this fall.

Westallion Brewing Company

In the middle of September, we covered Westallion Brewing Co., the dream brewery for West Allis by Erik and Kim Dorfner. But now you can make their dreams come true through their crowdfunding campaign at gofundme.com.

The Dorfners promise to become “the brewery that West Allis can be proud of.” They also say that every dollar they raise will go directly into starting up the project. And by mid-October, they hope to move into and renovate the brewery’s location at 1825 S. 72nd St. The beers they promise include a Vienna Lager, Scottish Ale and a Bavarian Hefeweizen along with seasonal beers like Imperial Stouts and Oktoberfests, all of which you can try at the brewery’s tasting room. And of course, they’ll have a variety of rewards to offer if you donate a certain amount of money, from pint glasses complete with beer to a chance to brew your own beer with the Dorfners.

“We have the vision and we have the team,” the page says. “Now we just need some help.”

Now Closing: Horny Goat Hideaway

Owner Jim Sorenson confirmed via telephone to OnMilwaukee that he will be closing the Horny Goat Hideaway on Oct. 11th.

The Horny Goat Hideaway has been entertaining guests at its location at 2011 S. 1st St. since 2009. Its waterfront patio and tented area, complete with volleyball courts, a large TV and arcade games, helped form many happy summer memories with the Milwaukee crowd. We’ve written about the bar and its happy hour, both of which will be missed.

The bar and restaurant’s Facebook page said that the company is re-structuring its operations “to address the increasingly competitive craft beer business.” They will continue to make craft beer. In addition, they will continue to be open for the league volleyball games throughout the current season.

“Making the decision to close the brew pub was incredibly difficult but is necessary; and will allow us to concentrate on improving our brands and our national distribution base,” the page said. “We wish to thank our customers and staff for their patronage and dedication.”

What are your fondest — or un-fondest — memories of the Horny Goat Hideaway? Let us know in our comments section.

7 thoughts on “Now Serving: Restaurant Coming to New Bay View Hotel”

  1. alba says:

    Horny Goat’s beer was the worst part of their restaurant experience, just ahead of their poor service. Still they were always packed, so I’m surprised they are closing.

  2. Sam says:

    I agree, Horny Goat’s beer is awful. Perhaps renewed focus on it will improve it. I never had their food, but the outdoor patio/bar were always nice during the summer (drinking anything but their beer). Maybe they will rent the restaurant/bar portion of the business out to somebody who can continue to use that space. It would be a waste otherwise.

  3. Urban Dweller says:

    That handsome building is perfect for a boutique hotel! I’m glad it will finally be well-utilized. It was originally a Masonic lodge & meeting hall, built in 1895.

    http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=N:4294963828-4294963814&dsRecordDetails=R:HI27771

  4. Diane says:

    Beautiful building, cool location, but the food was too expensive and nothing special – $7 hot dog! We decided that once was enough and never went back. Every time I drive past, I’ve lamented the fact that it was still open, so this is wonderful news, IMHO.

  5. Dave says:

    Horny Goat Hideaway had me until “Horny”. No thanks. Maybe I’ll check out what looks to be a great property when someone respectable takes it over. Or someone will build some overpriced apartments I’ll never live in but will surely add to the property tax base. Win win, in my book.

  6. Mark says:

    I’m sorry to see Horny Goat close. I wasn’t a fan of their beer (or who ever actually brews it) nor was I a fan of the restaurant. With that said it’s to bad it didn’t work out for them. They created a beautiful space that filled that corridor of Walkers Point / Bay View border nicely. I my opinion they over extended their own resources and most likely their finances. The operating costs of that year round tent must be astronomical. Then buying up the marina and surround land parcels most likely killed them. I have also heard rumors that it was horribly managed and owner was surrounded by yes men. I hope they find someone to take over that space soon. I’d hate to see that place collect dust.

  7. beer baron says:

    Horny Goat was all atmosphere, The beer was blah, the tacos were meh (though supposed to be their house specialty) and the burgers were ick. But that location will clearly get something high caliber cause it’s a good spot!

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