Latin Gastropub Planned for Bay View

A new restaurant serving dishes from Latin America and the Caribbean is being planned for the former Odd Duck location in Bay View.

Tulum Latin Gastropub is in the process of taking over the space at 2352 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. as Odd Duck relocates to Walker’s Point. Juan Magdaleon, the general manager of the new venture, told Urban Milwaukee that the menu will have Puerto Rican, Cuban, Caribbean, Peruvian and Mexican dishes among others. On top of that, it will also offer some classic pub fare like a burger. Essentially, he said, the restaurant will be serving Latin comfort food.

The new restaurant is owned by Ernesto Carmona. The chef is Dario Nunez.

The gastropub will also serve specialty cocktails and smoked cocktails and infused liquors, Magdaleopn said.

Each dish, he said, will have a recommended drink, traditional to that cuisine, to pair with it. For example, if a customer orders a Cubano, the recommended cocktail pairing will be a Mojito.

The menu will start off small when the restaurant first opens, Magdaleon said. But Chef Nunez has a “plethora” of recipes to implement.

One item planned is a Mexican dish served in a hot molcajete, which is a traditional Mexican mortar and pestle. The Molcajete is preheated on a fire, then filled with chicken, chorizo, cactus and steak among other things, then served with rice, beans, pico de gallo and handmade tortillas.

Nunez is originally from Chiapas, Mexico, and as such he has a number of Mexican dishes up his sleeve, Magdaleon said. For example, Quesadilla Frita, in which handmade masa is formed into a disc, filled with chicken or steak and then folded up similar to an empanada and grilled or deep fried.

Carmona is Peruvian and the menu also has some classic Peruvian dishes on the menu like Lomo Saltado, a beef stir-fry, and Arroz Chaufa, which is a Peruvian-style fried rice.

Right now, Magdaleon and his business partners are doing some work on the former Odd Duck space to make it their own. Patrons will find the walls have been painted with new matte-black accents, and in the back, he said, they plan to do a faux-green wall. They’re keeping the exposed brick and the hardwood bar, “staying with the rustic theme,” he said.

The crew from Odd Duck has been working with them as they move in, Magdaleon said. “Odd Duck, they’ve been so helpful for the transition to the new space,” he said.

The Odd Duck owners want Tulum to be involved in the local Bay View community, Magdaleon said, and Melissa Buchholz and Ross Bachhuber have helped put them in contact with other business owners and restaurateurs.

The Tulum team is working on licensing for the restaurant right now. If everything goes according to plan, the restaurant will be open by late spring or early summer.

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