New Indian Restaurant For Brady Street Area
The Curry Hut will open at former site of Wisconsin Pizza Authority.
Site of Wisconsin Pizza Authority, 1888 N. Humboldt Ave. Photo taken Nov. 18, 2022 by Sophie Bolich.
The owners of Curry Hut are planning to expand the restaurant’s Milwaukee footprint with a new location at 1888 N. Humboldt Ave., the former site of Wisconsin Pizza Authority.
Sanjeev and Kavita Sharma first opened the restaurant at 9809 W. Oklahoma Ave. last October, serving Indian cuisine and sweets. Just seven months later, the brother-sister team is preparing to launch a second location, which is expected to welcome its first guests this summer.
The siblings’ mother was an avid cook — a talent that she passed along to her children. In fact, several menu items at Curry Hut are based on her recipes, Kavita Sharma told Urban Milwaukee.
When asked which of his mother’s dishes was his favorite, Sanjeev Sharma replied, “oh, everything. Everything she made.”
Before he came to Milwaukee, Sanjeev Sharma worked for his cousin’s catering company in India, where he also spent time as a restaurant manager.
“I’ve been dealing with Indian food for probably 20 years. It’s my passion, actually,” said the chef, who spent his early years in the United States working retail, but was always looking for an opportunity to jump back into the restaurant business.
He did just that last year in opening the original Curry Hut. Things are going well, he said, and business is beginning to pick up ahead of what is sure to be a busy summer.
Curry Hut’s newest location would serve a menu similar to that of the original, offering a wide variety of classic Indian dishes including samosas, butter chicken, tikka masala and aloo gobhi.
Missing from the new location, however, will be the variety of Indian sweets — such as honey-soaked gulab jamun — that are available at the original restaurant.
Sanjeev Sharma said a series of aesthetic updates, including a fresh coat of yellow paint, are already underway at the upcoming Curry Hut.
The ground-level space, located within the Kane Place Lofts, was stripped of nearly every appliance and piece of furniture — save for a handful of tables, chairs and a drink cooler — when Wisconsin Pizza Authority abruptly exited in November 2022.
At the time, owner Luis Castillo cited difficulties renewing the lease, and said he was seeking a new location for the restaurant.
The space has seen a great deal of turnover in recent years, having previously housed Baba Ghanouj, Greek Village Gyros and Maglio Pizza.
Sanjeev Sharma said he hopes to open the new Curry Hut by mid-July. Proposed hours for the restaurant are 10 a.m. to midnight daily.
2022 Photos
