New Downtown Seafood Restaurant

Lowcountry, 1114 N. Water St. Photo by Mariiana Tzotcheva.

Lowcountry, a southern-style seafood restaurant with roots in Chicago, is close to opening its first Milwaukee location in the former home of Bar Louie at 1114 N. Water St. Biztimes’ Maredithe Meyer reports:

New signage has been up on the 1114 N. Water St. building for the past couple of months, but the Chicago-based business still needs city approval on its operating licenses and COVID-19 safety plan.

“We should be open within a couple of months,” said owner Pan Hompluem. “From a construction standpoint, we’re ready to go.”

The downtown Milwaukee restaurant will be Lowcountry’s third location, joining its two locations in Chicago. Hompluem, who’s worked in the restaurant industry for two decades, launched the concept in 2015 in the Lakeview neighborhood and later expanded to the South Loop

Hompluem cited a couple reasons for his move into the Milwaukee market. He’s a big fan of the city – he and his wife Dana have enjoyed taking weekend trips to hang out or to visit friends and family living in the area. And in recent years, Hompluem noticed that Lowcountry was attracting a lot of Milwaukee-area diners who would make the drive just to eat at his restaurant.

Once Lowcountry’s Milwaukee location gets the green light, the plan is to open for dine-in service, as permitted by the city.

New Chinese Restaurant For East Side

A new restaurant specializing in affordable Chinese-American cuisine is coming to the East Side at 2342 N. Farwell Ave. in the space left vacant by China Wok. MILWOKEE, as the new place will be called, will focus solely on takeout and delivery, and is being planned to open by the end of December. OnMilwaukee’s Lori Fredrich reports:

All menu items will be priced under $10, with many items in the $5.95 range; and there will be a variety of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-friendly options, including gluten-free fried rice (an item (Owner Albert) Yee has had success serving at festivals), as well as lo mein made with Impossible meats.

But Yee will also make good use of his experience in the festival concessions business by introducing at least one item that guests have not likely encountered before: his “soon to be famous” seamless foot-long vegetarian egg roll, a creation he calls the “Bambooza”.

“I believe size still matters in America,” he says…

The signature egg roll, which will be created with a custom-made egg-roll wrapper to accommodate its extraordinary size, will be filled with myriad vegetables and served alongside a classic sweet and sour sauce for dipping. And it will be sold for $9.99, a price that’s not only fitting to its size, but also a play on words.

“The number 9 in Chinese sounds very similar to the word ‘jiÅ’,” says Yee. “It’s a word that means ‘long’ or ‘long lasting’… so $9.99 is ‘long, long, long.’”

Joey Gerard’s Latest Bartolotta Restaurant to Reopen

Joey Gerard’s – A Bartolotta Supper Club (5601 Broad St.) will reopen for indoor dining on December 17 according to a press release. The restaurant will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., operating under the Bartolotta Restaurant Group’s COVID-19 response plan.

The supper club will have an updated menu, including charcoal-fired steaks, braised short rib stroganoff as well as an assortment of seafood. Customers will be required to wear face masks when entering the building and while interacting with staff.

Mexican Street Food For Hales Corner

El Dorado Mexican Street Tacos, a new restaurant specializing in authentic Mexican street food, is now open at 5311 S. 108th St. in Hales Corner. Journal Sentinel’s Hannah Kirby talked to owner Juan Melendez and has the details:

One of the restaurant’s most popular tacos so far has been its pastor al trompo, (Melendez) said, which features pork that’s marinated overnight on a vertical broiler, pineapple, onion and cilantro.

Another big-seller has been the birria de Jalisco, which has a blend of chiles and spices in a meat stew made with goat that’s slow-steamed. It’s served with onion, cilantro and a homemade green tomatillo sauce.

In addition to tacos, El Dorado has burritos, chimichangas, quesadillas, enchiladas, fajitas, and specialty drinks, including homemade red sangria, traditional palomas, and mojitos.

The restaurant has three kinds of mojitos: a regular mojito made with rum, one that’s strawberry lime-infused, and another that features tequila…

The restaurant opened at the end of October.

El Dorado is open for dine-in and carryout from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Hand-Made French Pastry Coming to Brookfield

Fresh Baked Cafe, a family-owned bakery specializing in handmade French pastries, will soon open a second location in Brookfield’s Galleria West shopping center at 18900 W. Bluemound Rd. The cafe’s first location opened in Oconomowoc in April 2019. With limited seating inside the Galleria West shopping center, the cafe  will offer curbside pickup.The Journal Sentinel’s Evan Casey reports:

The cafe has a breakfast and lunch menu, including croissants, tarts, soups and sandwiches.

It also roasts its own coffee, as a coffee roaster was installed at the Oconomowoc location this summer…

Jennifer Betances, the owner of Fresh Baked, started cooking when she was 5. She traveled to Europe when she was 42 to study the craft. The process to perfect her croissant recipe took 2½ years.

After she started to sell her products at the Oconomowoc Farmers Market, she decided to open a brick and mortar.

Fresh Baked will be in the lobby of the Galleria West shopping center…

Childers also said employees will take safety precautions related to the coronavirus pandemic, including social distancing and mask wearing.

The cafe will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

New Pizzeria at East Side’s Crossroads Collective

The Egg & Flour Pasta Bar will soon open a new pizza joint called E & F Pizzeria next to its current location inside of Crossroads Collective located at 2238 N. Farwell Ave. The new pizzeria will take over the stall left vacant by Raw Bar, and could open by the end of December. Journal Sentinel’s Carol Deptolla reports:

Whole pizzas would be 16 inches and made to order in 10 minutes or less. Slices would be one-fourth of a pizza, ready made and reheated for quick service.

Egg & Flour chef-owner Adam Pawlak said he’s planning different takes on everyday pizza toppings and plans to use a mozzarella blend that includes water buffalo milk, a milk that’s used in fresh mozzarella in Italy for its creaminess. Specials might include mac and cheese pizza, the chef added.

“With our limited space in a food hall, we really maxed out our options at the pasta shop,” Pawlak said. “So, when the space next to us became available, I really wanted to think of a creative way to expand Egg & Flour while bringing something fun and much needed for the food hall diners.”

Pawlak calls the pizza a “hybrid hand-tossed style.”

The pizzeria will have three pies available daily and a pizza special that will change often. It also will have salads available to go with pizzas.

Now Closing: The Last Baker’s Square

The last operating Baker’s Square location in Wisconsin, at 15300 W. Bluemound Rd., officially closed its doors on December 10, citing COVID-19 among other business factors as the reason for closing. Milwaukee Record’s Matt Wild reports:

It was the last Wisconsin location of the pie-focused restaurant chain. Locations in West Allis and Greenfield closed this past May. A Capitol Drive location in Shorewood closed in 2016. Thirteen locations still exist throughout the Midwest.

“This is never an easy decision to make and one driven by many business factors, the least of which being the impact of COVID restrictions on our business,” a news release said. “We want to express our deepest appreciation to our team members for their hard work and service, and to our loyal guests for their friendship and patronage over the years.”