More Tacos For Downtown

Taco Bar MKE. Photo by Dave Reid.

Tacos, tacos, tacos.

As if there weren’t enough options for this delicious treat popping up recently, another place offering it has opened in East Town.

Appropriately named Taco Bar MKE, it opened recently at 782 N. Jefferson St. and will serve 17 different types of tacos depending on the filling.

As Urban Milwaukee first reported, the new restaurant and bar combo is owned by Mazen Muna, who also owns the various locations of the chain Dogg Haus around town.

The space for Taco Bar was previously the Chinese restaurant Peking House, which closed earlier this year. Muna took over the vacant property and split it into two halves, opening a new Dogg Haus and now Taco Bar right next to it.

Carol Deptolla of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more details:

Taco Bar is serving 17 kinds of tacos, organized by filling:

• Beef, such as strip steak with onion, mushroom, blue cheese and a splash of A-1 sauce;
• Chicken, including spicy tikka with jalapeño, cilantro and raita sauce;
• Fish, including a fish-and-chips filling with slaw;
• Pork, such as a filling of roast pork, bacon and chicharrones;
• Vegetable, including a falafel taco with hummus and Jerusalem salad.

Prices range from $3.50 to $5.50 a taco; sides, such as guacamole and chips, range from $3.49 to $5.25…

Taco Bar has a metal tree sculpture behind the bar holding its various tequilas. The tippy-toppiest of the top-shelf pours is $200 an ounce, Muna said.

The bar will also offer a variety of other drinks, including craft beers, Argentian wines and Latin-style cocktails like margaritas.

Taco Bar operates regularly Mondays through Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. and Saturdays from 4:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.

Pizano’s Opens Today

Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta, 1154 N. Water St. Photo by Dave Reid.

After being issued their business license from the Common Council on September 25th, Pizano’s is finally opening its doors today at 4:00 p.m.

The Chicago-style pizza and pasta restaurant, located at 1154 N. Water St. on the ground floor of the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Grohmann Tower, announced its opening yesterday through its Facebook page.

Owner Rudy Malnati Jr. had originally planned to open the restaurant nearly 4 years ago in November 2014, but kept getting set back by delays with construction and obtaining a permit.

Maredithe Meyer from BizTimes has more:

The city’s license committee on Sept. 11 recommended approval of class B tavern, extended hours, food dealer and public entertainment premises licenses for Pizano’s.

The city’s Common Council on Sept. 25 issued the requested licenses, granting the restaurant the ability to open. 

Malnati opened the first Pizano’s in 1991 and now owns six Pizano’s locations in Illinois and Rudy’s Bar and Grille in Chicago, where the family name is well known.

Crossroads Collective Announces Vendors

Crossroads Collective, 2238 N. Farwell Ave. Photo by Jennifer Rick.

Last week, plans for a new East Side food hall named Crossroads Collective was reported by Urban Milwaukee.

The new food hall, located in the former space of Rosati’s at 2238 N. Farwell Ave., has now announced four vendors that will operate inside of the prospective food hall.

Urban Milwaukee’s Jennifer Rick has details on the four businesses that will be featured at the hall:

Craft tacos can be found at Laughing Taco, mirroring the menu found at the original restaurant (1033 S. 1st St.). Both are owned and operated by Justin and Lucia Munoz-Carlisle. Ryan Povlick and Dustin Garley will be serving homemade ice cream and toppings through their company, Scratch Ice Cream. Pedro Tejada will operate Pedro’s South American Food, serving empanadas and arepas like those sold by Tejada’s food truck of the same name. The fourth vendor is a concept inspired by the East Side restaurant Tess (2499 N. Bartlett Ave.). Owners Ashley and Mitchell Wakefield are working with Tess executive chef Martin Magana to bring soup and sandwiches to the food hall.

With four vendors announced so far, the venue still has room for four more until the space is full. Updates on other vendors joining Crossroads Collective will be available in the coming weeks.

Owner Tim Gokhman notes that the food hall plans on holding a number of soft openings before its grand opening within the first two weeks of November.

New Laid-Back Lounge 340

A new easy-going bar and lounge named Lounge 340 is being planned for the Halyard Park area.

Lounge 340, located at 340 W. Reservoir Ave., will be renovated within a 126-year old building which was the previous location of Breezes Bar.

Patrice Dickerson and Kamesha Lewis are the owners of the new lounge and are aiming for a very relaxed concept that includes cocktails, pub grub, and hookahs.

Maredithe Meyer of BizTimes has more from the owner:

With a laid-back atmosphere, Lounge 340 will be a bar “where people can come to socialize and unwind,” Dickerson said…

“We definitely know how to run a business, and know what it takes to run profitable business,” Dickerson said.

No major renovations to the space are needed aside from new flooring and a paint job, she said.

The owners are long-time operators of two locations of the child care business named Children’s Knowledge Learning Center in Milwaukee.

Specific hours of operation for Lounge 340 are yet to be announced.

Antigua Relocates

Latin restaurant Antigua reopened at the end of September after moving to a bigger location for its business.

The West Allis restaurant closed for a few weeks to make the move from its previous location at 5823 W. Burnham St. to its new location at 6207 W. National Ave.

The restaurant’s owners, Citlali Mendieta-Ramos and spouse Chef Nicolas Ramos, explained the main reason for moving was to accommodate increasing catering demands, something that was becoming difficult with the small kitchen area at the previous location.

The new space offers a much larger kitchen area as well as a new bar inside the venue.

Lori Fredrich of OnMilwaukee has more from the owners:

“We’ve been looking for a new location for about three and a half years,” notes Mendieta-Ramos…

“We’re thrilled we were able to stay in West Allis,” she adds. “We’ve lived here for years and we love this city…”

“We’ve actually cut the menu down a little bit,” he says. “But we kept the core, including dishes that people really love. And I’m so excited. The smaller menu really allows us to be more creative…”

Aside from a larger kitchen and bar in the new venue, the dining space is almost double the size of the previous location.

Antigua operates Tuesdays through Thursdays from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 4:30 to 10:00 p.m., and offers brunch on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Now Closing: East Side Starbucks

The Starbucks at one of the busiest intersections on the East Side, Brady and Farwell, announced it will be closing in the coming weeks.

Located at 1677 N. Farwell Ave., the local Starbucks has signs posted saying October 26th will be their final day in operation before shutting down.

Urban Milwaukee’s Jennifer Rick has more details:

“With so many choices, we’re thankful you’ve been our customer for so many years. You’ve been more than just someone we’ve served, you’ve become a part of our family,” the announcements read…

No reason was given for the closure. A representative for the location could not be immediately reached for comment.

Neighboring businesses include The Exclusive Company and The Dogg Haus on either side of the space.

After this location closes, patrons looking for the next nearest Starbucks will need to travel about a mile Southwest to 544 E. Ogden Ave.