Downtown Gets New Pasta Restaurant

Future home of Tua Pasta, 100 E. Wisconsin Ave. Suite 100. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A new pasta restaurant could be opening in the former John Hawks Pub space in Downtown. According to a press release from Colliers International Milwaukee, Tua Pasta LLC has leased the 4,203-square-foot space at 100 E. Wisconsin Ave. Suite 100. Owner Alvaro Niño de Guzman, Sr. was not immediately available for comment.

Cory Sovine of Colliers International Milwaukee brokered the transaction. The space has been vacant since the John Hawks Pub closed in 2016.

You can follow Tua Pasta on its brand new Facebook page here.

Stay tuned to Urban Milwaukee for more updates.

New Halal Restaurant for Historic Mitchell Street

A new restaurant could open at 837 W. Historic Mitchell St. in late March if the proposal is approved by the city. The business would be called Red & White, and would offer “European and Latin-inspired cuisine,” as the Biz Times described it, with an emphasis on halal foods.

BizTimes’ Maredithe Meyer reports:

The business would occupy a ground-floor space and would share the building with a Subway restaurant.

Owner Niaz Hussain said the restaurant will serve halal products, which are foods lawful to consume according to Islamic law. Its menu will include tacos, burritos, burgers and chicken curry, and nonalcoholic beverages only.

If approved, Red & White will serve lunch and dinner with options for delivery and catering.

Crossroads Collective Adds Egg & Flour Pasta Bar

Crossroads Collective food hall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Crossroads Collective (2238 N. Farwell Ave.) named some of its vendors in October and November 2018. The East Side food hall has been open since December 2018, and currently has six operating food vendors. Now, a handmade pasta restaurant has been announced as the seventh vendor.

Owner Adam Pawlak plans to open Egg & Flour Pasta Bar by mid-March. Pawlak previously served as Black Sheep‘s chef for two years, and has also worked at Bosley’s and Sebastian’s in Caledonia. Pawlak is partnering with Tony Goff (Goff Enterprise, This Time Tomorrow Foundation), Randy Rhoades and Alex Anderson.

Egg & Flour will focus on fresh pasta, with changing selections that will be made daily. Pawlak spoke with the Journal Sentinel’s Carol Deptolla about his ideas:

The four or five daily options will include extruded pastas such as fusilli, shells and creste di gallo, a large elbow with ridges that would be tossed with pesto.

Pawlak has 12 shapes planned so far for the lineup, but up to 60 are available for the extruder.

Egg & Flour also will have a filled pasta daily, such as ravioli, tortellini and agnolotti…

“Every pasta will have its own distinct sauce to have with it,” Pawlak said. Some of the sauces might be herb pesto, white truffle cream or bolognese, the classic meat sauce. Another option would be freshly cooked pasta tossed in a hollowed-out wheel of Parmesan in the customers’ view.

Other menu items will include a three-cheese mac and cheese, two types of salads, bread from Black Shoe and options for zucchini noodles.

Renovated Cafe Centraal Opens With New Name

Café Centraal (2306 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) ditched its name when it closed at the beginning of January. The restaurant is now known as Centraal Grand Café & Tappery, and officially reopened today. Lowlands Group Culinary Director Thomas Hauck and Centraal’s chef, Nathan Owley, have implemented a new menu. Brunch service has also been expanded, and is now available from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekdays.

Among the changes is a new beverage program called The Tappery. Urban Milwaukee takes a closer look:

A new beverage program called The Tappery has been implemented, and occupies its own distinct space at the front of the building. The Tappery has expanded the number of draught lines  at Centraal Grand Café to upwards of 70, as opposed to the 23 lines previously available at Café Centraal. Beverages available on tap include wine, bier, cocktails, cider, craft soda and coffee.

Eight tap towers, or “curations,” each contain five selections of beer that are grouped together by themes, some of which may include beer style or geographic location. “Curation boards” can be ordered from each tower, and include 4-ounce servings of each beer at that tower. The Tappery will also offer a featured curation, the first of which will be “a collection of five, rare Norwegian, Danish and Swedish beers” known as “Scandinavian Suds.”

Along with extensive interior renovations, the main entrance to the eatery has also changed, and is now located on the corners of S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and E. Lincoln Ave. Hours of Operation are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

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Bucks Open The MECCA Sports Bar

The MECCA Sports Bar and Grill. Rendering by RINKA.

Urban Milwaukee broke the news in January that a sports bar was slated to open at 333 W. Juneau Ave. Now, we are learning more about the business that will share the building with Good City Brewing. The Bucks announced that the sports bar will be called The Mecca Sports Bar and Grill.

Urban Milwaukee’s Jeramey Jannene provides more details:

According to a statement from the team, the bar, with a 600-person capacity, will “recreate the in-game experience by featuring state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment built around the centerpiece of a 36-foot high-definition screen.” Outdoor seating will be provided on the first and second levels.

The name is an homage to the team’s original home in the MECCA Arena. MECCA, which stands for Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, was the name of a complex that was replaced by the construction of the Wisconsin Center convention hall (then the Midwest Express Center)…

Permits on file with the city list a variety of spaces planned for the establishment, including a theater dining room, viewing deck, skybox dining room and private dining room. The bar will share a second-story patio with Good City Brewing.

The MECCA Sports Bar and Grill is the fourth business announced for the Entertainment Block. Punch Bowl Social and a Drink Wisconsinbly pub are both expected to open in spring, while Good City Brewing opened last month.

Punch Bowl Social Announces Grand Opening

Punch Bowl Social. Rendering by Rinka Chung Architecture.

Punch Bowl Social announced their tenancy at the Bucks’ Entertainment Block in July, and now the “eatertainment” company has announced its Milwaukee location(1122 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.) will open with a party from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 9.

Punch Bowl Social will offer arcade and table games, bowling, billiards and private karaoke rooms along with “scratch-made” fare and craft cocktails. CEO Robert Thompson spoke with OnMilwaukee’s Lori Fredrich about the concept and fare:

“When we started, we chose primarily a diner approach to the universe, which really gives us a lot of freedom to do modern twists on American staples and comfort foods,” Thompson says. “And that may manifest in a pastrami meatball sub or one of our iconic malted waffles with fried chicken and chipotle-citrus maple syrup. Along the way, we really utilized our freedom … decided that there might not be anything more American than a taco.”

All of those things are likely candidates to appear on the Milwaukee menu, along with shareables like a “Sheetload of Nachos,” wings, a bevy of burgers, salads, and a menu of tacos ranging from green chorizo and barbacoa to shrimp and pork belly…

The brand is also well known for its mocktail program, which includes selections like the cilantro fizz featuring fresh cilantro, housemade jalapeno and cucumber syrup, fresh lime and aquafaba… There will also be coffees, teas and tea-based beverages, and old school soda fountain drinks, including shakes and malts.

Punch Bowl Social will also offer local beer and spirits from local breweries and distilleries, and will serve a “wide range” of craft punches and cocktails. PBS will serve lunch, dinner and late-night snacks, along with weekend brunch until 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday.

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