New French Place, New Fuel Cafe

Maison. Photo from Facebook.

A new French Restaurant called Maison is almost set to open in mid-March. Maison will take over the building formally occupied by Meritage at 5921 W. Vliet St. in Washington Heights. Owner Michael Quinn, who was previously the sous chef at Coquette Café, has so far been secretive about the menu, other than to say he will continue the weekly mussels specials featured at Meritage and will offer a wine and cocktail list which will emphasize French offerings.

Quinn did talk to the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Melanie Lawder about recent improvements made to the building:

…renovations on the building included the installation of new hardwood floors, freshly painted walls, as well as a re-stained and reconstructed bar, among other additions and new fixtures.

Check Maison’s Facebook page for updates and soon-to-be-released menu.

Crafty Cow Comes to Bay View

Crafty Cow, of Oconomowoc, known for its unique craft burgers and beer selection, will be opening up a Bay View location in April. The new restaurant will take the place of Bumstead Provisions’ current grocery and deli half of the building at 2671 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

OnMilwaukee.com’s Lori Fredrich has more about the menu being planned:

On the food side, the Crafty Cow menu will feature a number of familiar items like a signature beer-battered cheese curds and a selection of hand-formed stuffed burgers – including favorites like the Twice Baked stuffed with cheddar and bacon and topped with potato chips, seasoned sour cream and onions; the Dirty Swiss stuffed with aged swiss and portabella mushrooms and topped with caramelized onions; and the Lucy, a tribute to the original Jucy Lucy burger.

The Bay View location will also feature a number of additional unique burgers, including five burgers with ingredients inspired by collaborations between Milwaukee-area businesses.

Fuel Cafe On 5th St.

Fuel Cafe’s second Milwaukee location, at 630 S. 5th St. in Walker’s Point, is officially open for business. The original Fuel Café, a Riverwest staple, has been in operation since 1993, and is known for strong coffee, soups, sandwiches like “The Cheesy Tomato” & “Buttafuoco”, and vegan and vegetarian food options.

The press release announcing the opening included a quote from co-owner Scott Johnson and other information:

“Our new location is decidedly riffing off Fuel’s motorcycle roots,” said Johnson. “But that is really just a sliver of our identity. Fuel in Walker’s Point is a combo of a self-service café with full espresso bar, our own bakery line and grab and go items, and a full table service neighborhood restaurant and bar.”

Fuel Café on 5th’ Street’s layout includes a street side café, and a main bar and restaurant area. A large outdoor patio with seating and firepits will open this summer and the café has a semi-private mezzanine available for group meetings or small gatherings and events. The new Fuel Café design was created and brought to life through collaborative efforts of the location’s landlord Mark Lathers, Rinka-Chung Architects and Kelly Construction & Design.

Visit www.fuelcafe.com for more details and full menu.

Portillo’s Comes to Greenfield

Portillo’s, the Chicagoland restaurant chain best known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers, fresh salads and chocolate cake, is opening its second Wisconsin location at 8705 W. Sura Lane in Greenfield in April.  The chain, which goes back to its original restaurant opened in 1963, now has some 50 restaurants in six states.

The 9,000 square foot mega-restaurant in Greenfield will have seating for over 180 guests, with two drive-thru lanes and a seasonal outdoor patio that can accommodate an additional 52 guests.

“We are excited at the opportunity to bring a second Portillo’s to our neighbors to the north,” said Portillo’s CEO Keith Kinsey in a press release. “It has been a pleasure working with the city of Greenfield to make this happen.”

For more information about Portello’s including full menus visit www.portillos.com

New Pabst Microbrewery and Taproom

Pabst Brewing Co. plans to open a new microbrewery and taproom in a converted and restored old German Methodist church located on the original grounds of the original Pabst Brewery. They plan to begin brewing beer in March and have their grand opening in May.

Urban Milwaukee’s Jeramey Jannene reported on the project last week:

According to Pabst Chairman and CEO Eugene Kashper, the company will initially brew approximately 2,000 barrels a year at the facility consisting mostly of long-forgotten Pabst recipes.

Design on the $5 million adaptive reuse project is being led by Engberg Anderson. Work includes the repair of windows, cleaning of Cream City brick walls, installation of a new roof and a two-story rear addition. An outdoor beer garden will be constructed on the south and east sides of the block.

UberEATS

Uber launched its UberEATS app in Milwaukee last Thursday. The app allows Milwaukeeans to have food delivered to their door from over 70 of Milwaukee’s favorite restaurants including AJ Bombers, Smoke Shack, Sake Tumi, Casablanca and more, with the same ease as ordering an Uber.

UberEATS users will have access to full menus from their favorite restaurants and local restaurants benefit from an increased customer base. Milwaukee is the first city in Wisconsin where UberEATS is available. The app can be downloaded here.

Now Closing: Hybrid Lounge

Hybrid Lounge, located at 707 E. Brady St., has closed.

Owner Nate Fried, who opened the bar in 2010, also runs Angelo’s Lounge at 1686 N. Van Buren St., which will remain open. Hybrid Lounge posted a farewell to patrons on their Facebook page.

Good Evening, despite having a fully funded and guaranteed buyer for Hybrid Lounge, the landlord has chosen not to accept that buyer and not renew Hybrid’s lease. Hybrid will close permanently Saturday night, February 25th. 

…We’ve had 7 years of experiences here including the cities best Karaoke, Poker nights, Drag shows, Comedy shows, incredible DJs, Themed events, Trivia, Birthday parties and Fundraisers, Dart leagues, the Brady Street Festival and the best dice feuds around.

…I love this bar.