Two New Vendors Open at 3rd Street Market Hall
Criollo and Smokin' Jack's BBQ launched earlier this week at the food hall.
The Avenue and 3rd Street Market Hall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Downtown’s 3rd Street Market Hall, 275 W. Wisconsin Ave., is now home to two additional vendors. Criollo Rotisserie Chicken and Smokin’ Jack’s BBQ opened in neighboring stalls earlier this week.
Criollo, a Latin American and Caribbean Creole fusion concept, launched on Tuesday, according to a representative of the business. The restaurant serves hearty, flavorful dishes such as Mexican-style grilled chicken, Puerto Rican rice and fried plantains.
An assortment of specialty dishes including Jamaican oxtail stew, Cuban ropa vieja and pork mole are available as rotating daily specials.
A full menu and schedule for daily specials is available online.
Criollo is led by industry veterans Edgar Aispuro Garcia, Karlos Soriano and Paco Villar. The team also oversees C-viche and Kompali.
Neighboring Smokin’ Jack’s BBQ opened on the heels of Criollo, dishing out trays of smoked chicken wings, brisket and rib tips starting Thursday morning.
The market stall is the first brick-and-mortar location for Smokin’ Jacks, which got its start as a ghost kitchen operating out of Waukesha’s Point Burger Bar during the pandemic. From there, owner Jack Holt acquired a food truck and trailer, serving at Jazz in the Park and other local events.
Holt brings a lineup of generations-old recipes to the menu at Smokin’ Jack’s, offering a variety of smoked meats including brisket, pork shoulder and chicken. Meats are available for purchase by the pound or as a platter accompanied by sides such as mac and cheese, smoked baked beans, street corn and potato salad.
Sandwiches options include pulled pork, cheesesteak, brisket and smoked chicken. A BBQ bowl with rice, cheese, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, barbeque sauce, peppers, lettuce, onion and a choice of meat is also available.
Smokin’ Jack’s makes its dry rubs and sauces (Kansas, Alabama White and Texas) in-house. Holt said that he has plans to eventually bottle the rubs and sauces for wholesale.
3rd Street Market has seen steady growth since its January 2022 launch. The food hall now features 18 vendors, with at least one more on the way. Pho Spot MKE is slated to open soon with a menu of staple Vietnamese dishes.
The market still has room to expand, as several hawker stalls remain vacant.
The food hall at 3rd Street Market is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The bar keeps slightly different hours and is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
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