Clarion Hotel to Reopen With New Bar, Restaurant
Formerly shuttered hotel near airport will have new management and Indian restaurant.
Site of Clarion Hotel, 6331 S. 13th St. Photo taken April 16, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.
Clarion Hotel could soon welcome new guests after a period of closure. New management plans to reopen the shuttered hotel, 6331 S. 13th St., bringing additional lodging options to the neighborhood just west of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
A new bar and restaurant, Cafe 94 Indian Fusion, is also slated to join the building. In addition to the full-service restaurant space, the 160-room hotel contains a pool, fitness center, dining area for continental breakfast and three private meeting rooms.
Sandeep Kumar and his business partner, Charanjeet Singh, would run the hotel, while Iqbal Ghotra and his wife, Parminder, would oversee the restaurant.
Kumar, who is based in Virginia, told Urban Milwaukee that he and Singh were recruited by previous owner, Hardeep Arora, to reopen the hotel.
Though he no longer oversees the business, city records indicate that Arora currently owns the 165,600-square-foot, three-story building.
Kumar said he and his partner plan to reopen the hotel within the next month or two. The business is seeking employees, including a general manager for the hotel.
A website for the hotel is in progress, said Kumar, who also said that he has no plans for construction or renovations to the building at this time.
Built in 1967, the hotel has changed hands numerous times throughout the past decade. Since 2007, it has operated under such brands as Radisson, Ramada Plaza Airport Milwaukee, Days Inn & Suites and Grandstay Hotel & Suites. It was Radisson again in 2018 before taking on its current title as Clarion Hotel. (The front of the hotel calls it the Clarion Inn, but its city-issued license application calls it the Clarion Hotel and the Clarion brand doesn’t appear to have any Inns.)
Clarion is a Choice Hotels Brand. Each hotel is independently owned and operated by a franchisee. Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, the chain has more than 7,000 hotels in 50 states and more than 40 countries and territories.
Cafe 94 Indian Fusion
As the hotel moves towards reopening, a new restaurant is preparing to launch in the same building. The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday approved a liquor license for Cafe 94 Indian Fusion.
The new restaurant would operate independently of the hotel, serving a variety of Indian dishes and alcoholic beverages.
Temporary signage is already on display for the restaurant, which will occupy 7,197 square feet on the east side of the building and has also operated under other brand names. Houlihan’s Restaurant and Bar and the Tavern on 13th Bar and Grille have both previously operated at the address.
Ghotra, the restaurant owner, also operates Taj Palace, a large banquet hall in Cudahy. The business, which can host groups of up to 800, offers an extensive selection of catering services featuring Indian-inspired appetizers, entrees and sweets, as well as alcoholic beverages.
The restaurant initially planned to be open 24 hours, but the committee asked Ghotra to amend the hours to close at midnight.
Once open, the restaurant would operate from 6 a.m. to midnight daily.
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