New Restaurant for Riverwest?
License application says fast-causal restaurant Kitchen Kings to open at former Sticky Rice.
Sticky Rice, 1000 E. Locust St. Photo by Dave Reid.
A new, fast-casual restaurant is poised to open in Riverwest, taking over the corner restaurant space where Sticky Rice once operated its flagship location.
The Lao and Thai restaurant left the building, 1000 E. Locust St., earlier this year, transferring locations permanently to its newer, Lower East Side restaurant.
In its place, Waleed Kamal Mohamady plans to open Kitchen Kings, a takeout-only restaurant that’s expected to operate into the early hours of the morning, catering to nearby students as well as bar-goers.
The blocks surrounding the 625-square-foot restaurant space are home to a number of bars and breweries — including nearby Linneman’s Riverwest Inn and Black Husky Brewing — but few late-night dining options.
Mohamady, an industry veteran, is part of the five-member team that owns Mad Chicken, a Milwaukee-based fast food chain. The fast-growing company has two Milwaukee restaurants — with another on the way — plus locations in Germantown, Greendale, Brookfield, Green Bay, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.
Although a city license application lists the Riverwest address as the future site of the restaurant, Kitchen Kings also claims to be “coming soon” to 2335 N. Murray Ave. In recent weeks, signs posted in the building’s front windows advertised the upcoming restaurant — but the address is at odds with that on the license application. Last week, a contractor at the Murray Avenue property said a different establishment was planned for the space.
The East Side building on Murray, previously the site of Mr. Senors, has been vacant since the restaurant, a favorite stop among neighborhood residents for hefty burritos and other Mexican fare, quietly closed in October 2022.
An occupancy permit has not yet been filed on behalf of the restaurant at either address. Mohamady did not respond to a request for comment last week.
The Riverwest building is owned by 1126 Kane LLC, which lists Shane Zolper as its registered agent. Zolper also owns an additional 10 properties throughout the Riverwest neighborhood.
Once open, Kitchen Kings is expected to operate Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.
