The New State Will Have New Cafe

State Theater. Rendering by Quorum Architects.

A new cafe is coming to Milwaukee’s Near West Side as part of a larger proposal to redevelop the long-shuttered State Theater into a music venue known as The New State.

The owners of the nearby Daddy’s Soul Food & Grille will open Dulaney’s at 2608-2610 W. State St., a one-story commercial building next to the theater.

“This time next year it should be open,” said developer John Hennessy, one of the leaders of the New State effort, to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on Tuesday morning.

Since 2014, husband-and-wife team Bennie and Angela Smith have operated the highly-regarded Daddy’s at 754 N. 27th St., two blocks to the south. The couple opened another restaurant, Daddy’s on Bluemound, in 2021. But Dulaney’s is described as a cafe.

A $250,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will fund a substantial portion of the build-out of the new cafe.

“We have already invested about $300,000 in the structure of the cafe,” said Hennessy. He estimated its total cost, which includes getting the existing building to white-box status, at $650,000, The operators will need to add fixtures for their specific needs.

“Construction has been underway for the better part of the year,” said area Alderman Robert Bauman, using the grant announcement to not so subtly push for more action on the long-planned theater redevelopment. The city serves as a pass-through entity for the grant.

The city sold the fire-damaged theater and two adjacent, vacant properties to the nonprofit in 2018 for $1,000.

Hennessy noted that the group has made progress. In 2022, it completed the first phase of its music park on the vacant lots to the east of the theater, 2612-2616 W. State St. It also stabilized the theater structure.

It continues to fundraise for the theater development. The nonprofit group, led by Hennessy and Janice Vogt, is planning to redevelop the 10,599-square-foot building into a 415-seat, all-ages, non-alcoholic venue.

Three sound studios, managed by Mammyth Audio, would be outfitted, including one for instruction, one for lease and another for Mammyth. Vogt’s separate nonprofit, Freespace, would lease space for seminars, workshops and classes tailored to youth musicians.

West Side Arts Un, Limited, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, would operate the complex.

Built in 1915 as a 1,000-seat movie theater, the building has had quite the life. It’s also been a dance hall, music club (The Electric Ballroom and later The Palms) and strip club (Hoops). When it was a music club, a number of major acts performed there before hitting it big, including U2, AC/DC, Elvis Costello and The Police.

It’s been vacant for nearly 30 years. The city acquired the property in 2013 through property tax foreclosure and a fire significantly damaged the structure in 2017.

The New State purchased the future cafe building for $80,000 in 2019 from long-time owner Michael Christ according to real estate transfer records. The 2,545-square-foot structure was built in 1923 according to the City Assessor’s website. It last housed Mike’s A Little Bit Country tavern.

Photos and Rendering

Related Legislation: File 230195