Hue Opens New Bay View Location

Hue Vietnamese Restaurant opened its new location in Bay View following the transformation of the former Sven’s Cafe.

The brightly-colored dining room and bar includes a variety of artistic pieces featuring motorcycles and mopeds, which are ubiquitous in Vietnam. A patio, with an operable window into the bar,  is located on the southeast side of the building.

The front-of-the-house restaurant is located in a new, two-story building constructed in front of the one-story Sven’s building at 2699 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. The 1,288-square-foot, former cafe building is now the restaurant’s kitchen.

The restaurant closed its prior location, located two buildings north, on April 16 in preparation for the move. It had operated in that leased space, 2691 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., for almost 12 years.

Hue is open in the new space from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant’s offerings include spring rolls, beef short ribs, bun fresh noodle bowls, Vietnamese crepes, soups and fried rice.

The restaurant’s owners Cat Tran and Mark Nielsen acquired the former Sven’s property in 2019 following the cafe’s closure and announced a plan to build the new structure in late spring 2021.

The upper floor is to be used for short-term rental, Airbnb-style apartments. Building plans included three studio units.

Madison-based Linville Architects led the project’s design. One Source Construction served as the general contractor. A building permit indicates the finished project includes 4,320 square feet of space.

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

Hue Restaurant Group closed its Wauwatosa location in April 2021 in anticipation of the Bay View project. The restaurant group also operates a food truck. Its fresh meal business, SquareMeal, is on hiatus.

The former Hue Bay View space will soon become a permanent Happy Dough Lucky donut shop under the ownership of Andrew Swofford.