Hue Restaurant Expanding, Relocating

The owners of Hue Vietnamese Restaurant have big plans for Bay View.

The restaurant, 2691 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., is relocating to a substantially redeveloped property at 2699 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

Most recently home to Sven’s Cafe, the 1,288-square-foot building will be expanded to accommodate the relocated restaurant. Site work began last week, with the asphalt that covered much of the 0.14-acre property removed.

A two-story addition will be constructed in front of the building. A building permit indicates the final building size will be 4,320 square feet.

Three studio apartments will be included in the upper floor.

A patio is planned for the eastern side of the irregularly shaped lot. Only a small portion of the property directly fronts S. Kinnickinnic Ave. with larger segments facing S. Logan Ave. to the east and E. Russell Ave. to the south.

According to a press release, the project is expected to be finished this fall. Hue will continue operating in its current space until relocating.

The restaurant, owned by Cat Tran and Mark Nielsen, has operated out of its current space since 2010.

Hue Restaurant Group closed its Wauwatosa location in April in anticipation of the Bay View project. It continues to use the Tosa space for its frozen meal program SquareMeal.

Madison-based Linville Architects is leading the project’s design. One Source Construction is leading the general contracting.

An affiliate of Hue acquired the property in October 2019 for $300,000 from Sven’s owner Steve Goretzko. The former owner closed the cafe in July 2019 after 15 years of operation.

The existing building was constructed in 1956 according to city records. Automotive service company Smith Standard Service occupied the property according to historical records. The building was later used as a newspaper distribution hub, with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel selling the property in 1998 for $40,000.

It’s just the latest instance of a restaurant relocating on Bay View’s main street. Earlier this year we reported that Honeypie was moving to a new space, with Belli’s Bistro & Spirts moving to take its former space and a new restaurant, Blackwood Brothers Restaurant and Social Club, opening in the former Belli’s space.

Photos and Rendering