10 Changes in Restaurants and Bars

On the menu of changes this week are a coffee shop, chocolate store, pizza place, hamburger emporium and more. The envelopes, please:

Safe House

Dave Baldwin is retiring nearly 50 years after creating the Milwaukee’s iconic Safe House.

The Marcus Group, dining and entertainment giant, purchased the rights to the spy-themed establishment for an undisclosed amount, according to The Milwaukee Business Journal.

Baldwin said this wasn’t something that took place overnight and that the two sides had been talking for quite a long time.

Marcus Corp. will make subtle changes with the menu as well as introducing new items. These will include locally sourced and fresh ingredients, as well as newly crafted cocktails. Last year we profiled the Safe House.

Some are wondering if Marcus might try to replicate or franchise the Safe House name or concept in some way. We’ll see.

Brown Bottle patio opening

Not often does a website offer up a fresh bottle of Schlitz on their homepage, but the The Brown Bottle does. This is probably because it used to be the hospitality room of the Joseph Schlitz Brewery.

The Brown Bottle patio at Schlitz park is now open. There will be live music Monday – Thursday from 4:30 to 8 p.m. and patio specials from 3 p.m. to closing time.

They will also be starting a Tour of Beer Club membership, which is a loyalty program that will reward members with prizes along with a plethora of beer.

Last year we reported on The Brown Bottle reopening.

Kickapoo Cafe

Kickapoo Coffee is an organic fair trade coffee roasting company based in Viroqua and this fall they’ll be opening a cafe in the Historic Third Ward at 232 E. Erie Street.

Scott Lucey is a seasoned barista and head of training at Colectivo coffee. He will manage the shop with Kickapoo owners T.J. Semanchin and Caleb Nicholes, according to On Milwaukee.

“Having my own cafe was a long-time dream. So partnering with Kickapoo was a perfect solution,” Lucey told Lori Fredrich.

Kickapoo and Project Congo are working with On The Ground, a philanthropic organization that gives $1 from every pound of coffee sold to promote awareness of gender equality in the farming regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lucey said the intent is to be clean and bright with design help from Paul Sherer of Think Drawer Design. Kickapoo Cafe with also be offering baked goods.

In April, we reported that Kickapoo is part of The Milwaukee Coffee Guild’s third annual Coffee Festival in September. The cafe is slated to open by October.

Rewined Modern American Grille

Rewined Modern American Grille, 890 Elm Grove Lane, opened in May without a bang or much notice at all.

Owner Mark Antczak, also owner of Kristofer’s in Sister Bay, has been remodeling the space to give it a more modern design, according to On Milwaukee.

They’ll be open Monday – Saturday 11a.m. to close with live music on Wednesday-Friday and happy hour 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Rewined will also be open for Sunday brunch 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Their menu will feature soups and salads ranging from $6 to $13 and entrees from $18 to $38. Their Sunday brunch menu is also available on their website.

We first reported on the change, when Brad Clark made the switch from Trocadero, in February.

The site used to be home to Grove Restaurant.

Wisconsin Pizza Works

Last week we reported Wisconsin Pizza Works was opening at 8210 S. Howell Avenue in Oak Creek sometime. Now we know it will be June 23.

Tagged as a salad and pizza bistro, the menu includes specialty pies like Margherita and buffalo chicken, as well as the standard pepperoni and sausage variety. They’ll also have a fresh salad bar with tri-color rotini, creamy cucumber salad and an assortment of pastas and desserts.

Lori Fredrich from On Milwaukee got the scoop on Owner Joe Cardenas, who worked in management in the food service industry for twelve years. He then worked in retail, but knew he wanted to come home and start his own place.

Wisconsin Pizza Works plans to use 100 percent fresh Wisconsin cheese – never frozen. They will also be making their fresh dough and sauces daily.

Wisconsin Pizza Works will be open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

Pfister Hotel Cafe

The Cafe at The Pfister, located inside the lobby of the historic Pfister Hotel will now be serving dinner.

Tim Smith, general manager of The Pfister, said the staff is thrilled to once again host dinner.

“We feel it will offer our guests and the downtown community great food with quality ingredients at an affordable price point. We hope those who’ve dined with us in the past will come back and resume their dinner tradition,” Tim Smith said in the press release.

The Cafe will serve dinner Tuesday – Thursday 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. It will continue to serve breakfast and lunch and maintain its barista counter with baked-in-house pastries which is open until 8 p.m. every day.

The hotel is owned and operated by Marcus Hotel & Resorts, a division of the ever-busy Marcus Corp.

We published the press release last week.

Indulgence Chocolatiers

Wauwatosa will have its own chocolate laboratory with the the grand opening of Indulgence Chocolatiers at 6538 W. North Avenue on Friday, June 19.

The space used to be home to Not Just Nuts, a candy and nut shop owned by Gary Garski. After he passed away in August it left locals wondering about the shop.

“As we modified the space to fit our needs, we were very conscious to respect the space and preserve the character of the building,”  co-owner Julie Waterman told On Milwaukee. “So, although we’ve given it a modern look, there are also small touches that harken back to the original space.”

A classic chalkboard behind the counter will display the menu items and this doesn’t just include truffles and chocolate bars, but will include Purple Door ice cream with 15 flavors being offered.

Customers will be able to pair their ice cream with a variety of toppings both classic and experimental like peanut butter ice cream with cocoa nib and candied bacon crumble.

One 4-ounce scoop is $3.70 and two scoops will be $5.60 with $1 for each selected topping. They will also serve Sprecher root beer floats with choice of ice cream for $6.75.

Indulgence summer hours will be Tuesday – Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m to 10 p.m. and Sundays noon to 8 p.m. with the shop closed on Mondays.

Nomad World Pub Spinoff

Mike Eitel and his wife Kristyn are partnering to purchase what used to be Sports Channel on Nemahbin Lake in the village of Summit near Oconomowoc. Eitel owns Nomad World Pub at 1401 E. Brady Street, and is prepared to bring that idea to Lake Country.

The pair opened Panga Bar and Grill at 34422 Delafield Road, earlier this month in Summit and plan on opening Nomad Broadsports later this summer, according to The Milwaukee Business Journal.

Eitel said he’d been visiting the Sports Channel bar since he was a kid when his grandparents lived on the lake.

“It’s such an amazing location with so much potential to be something special,” Eitel told the Biz Journal.

Panga Bar and Grill is in the same building that Eitel is renovating for Nomad Broadsports.

Nomad World Pub is open 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and according to their website has over 180 beers available.

Sobelman’s in Mequon

Centennial Bar & Grille will be open through June 20 and then it will become Sobelman’s, according to Centennial’s Facebook page.

Sobelman’s is known for its yummy hamburgers and fries, with emporiums it runs on 19th and St. Paul and 16th and Wells. Owner Dave Sobelman told Mequon Now that he lives in the North Shore and this location will be particularly convenient for him.

Sobelman’s is also planning on opening at 10352 N. Port Washington Road later this summer, according to On Milwaukee.

Tornado Brewing

Tornado Brewing is moving from Cudahy to Appleton Ave. in Menomonee Falls.

Owner Dennis Erb told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that someone told him about the new space and he went to check it out. It offered more space and that was all it took.

“I plan on doing a little more,” Erb said. “It all depends on what the clientele here wants me to do.”

The hours, for now, will be the same as they were in Cudahy. Open Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday open at 11 a.m.

Erb will continue to brew the beer in Woodman in Grant County and continues to pride himself on a craft beer selection that includes Habenero Pale Ale, Sicilian Grape Barleywine and a Belgian Dubble Stout.

The site was formerly home to Almost Famous Tavern, a name that perhaps predicted its destiny.