BelAir Coming To Titletown
Plus: 4 new bars and restaurants open Downtown, city suspends southside bar and a new Puerto Rican restaurant.
Rendering for BelAir’s Green Bay restaurant. Image courtesy of Stephen Vebber Architecture & Design
BelAir Cantina has seen steady growth since its inception in 2010, expanding its portfolio to include five Milwaukee-area restaurants and a sixth in Madison. Its next move will be a Lambeau Leap — the chain plans to launch a new location in Green Bay next year.
BelAir’s seventh restaurant is slated to open inside the TitletownTech Building, 1025 Lombardi Ave., just steps away from the Green Bay Packers‘ home field.
The new restaurant aims to open in the first half of 2024, and will serve the same menu of shareable appetizers, tacos, burritos and margaritas as the other BelAir eateries.
“We are thrilled to join the hospitality community at Titletown!” said Kristyn Eitel, owner of BelAir Cantina, in a statement. “Not only is this an incredible opportunity for the BelAir brand and our growth, but it’s also an opportunity to participate in one of our state’s most cherished traditions: Green Bay football!”
Eitel, along with business partner and Executive Chef, Noe Zamora, purchased the majority stock in the BelAir Cantina and Fuel Cafe brands in October 2022.
Eitel will collaborate with Stephen Vebber Architecture & Design, based in Whitefish Bay, on the project.
Following Fatal Shooting, City Suspends Southside Bar
The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously on Tuesday morning to issue a 60-day suspension to Buckshots, effectively closing the southside tavern until late January.
Regulars flocked to the business, 3219 S. 13th St., on Monday night, just a few hours before the council’s official decision, for a final hurrah in anticipation of the two-month closure.
The suspension went into effect on Nov. 21 and will continue through Jan. 19, 2024.
At a Nov. 7 license renewal hearing for Buckshots, area alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic raised concerns over safety, referring specifically to a fatal shooting that took place outside the tavern on June 25.
Puerto Rican Restaurant Coming to Layton Park
Being a small business owner doesn’t come easy. Along with a great deal of hard work, the job also requires a bit of luck, or faith, depending on who you ask.
For Irma Melendez Santiago and Giovany Rodriguez Arroyo, it’s the latter. Since launching Sabor Divino as a mobile operation in 2019, the married couple have dealt with a food truck crash that deemed the vehicle — their livelihood — “a total loss,” subsequent issues with insurance funds and the grim prospect of job-searching amid the early months of the pandemic.
But the couple continued despite the setbacks, and is now preparing to open the first brick-and-mortar location for Sabor Divino, or divine flavor, at 3300 W. Lincoln Ave., in the Layton Park neighborhood. The building at this location was formerly home to AsianRican Foods, which was open as recently as early October, but has since disconnected its phone number.
The new restaurant, set to open in January, will serve breakfast lunch and dinner with an emphasis on traditional Puerto Rican dishes.
Apres-Ski Bar Opening Downtown
The Milwaukee forecast is still snow-free for now, but one downtown business plans to be in full “ski season” by the end of the month.
Mike Eitel‘s Experts Only — formerly known as Eitel’s — will host a grand opening celebration at 5 p.m. on Nov. 30.
The upcoming bar is located at 782 N. Jefferson St., inside the former Taco Bar MKE.
As its double black diamond logo suggests, Experts Only is a ski-themed bar — après-ski, to be specific. The concept, meaning “after ski,” became popular in the Alps during the 1950s, but has taken on a more abstract meaning over the years.
New Cafe Opening at City Building
After seven years of fueling city workers with breakfast, coffee, lunch and snacks, Azmi Alaeddin will close Aladdin’s City Cafe next month. The restaurant operated in the basement of the Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building, 841 N. Broadway, which connects to Milwaukee City Hall via a tunnel.
Alaeddin also closed Aladdin’s All Aboard Cafe, which was located at Milwaukee Intermodal Station, earlier this year. Shortly after, he made the decision not to renew his lease in the downtown building, and told Urban Milwaukee that he will be “passing on the torch.”
It won’t be a far reach — incoming operator Rhonda Carter Watson is the current manager for Aladdin Taste of the East/Pitaworks, another concept by Alaeddin located at the Milwaukee Public Market. She has held the position since 2006.
Watson, who was selected from a pool of RFP applicants, plans to open RCW’s Cafe, a new concept that Alaeddin said will “carry on Aladdin’s essence” while “adding a new flair to the location.
Meet Amanda Langler, New Executive Chef at Lake Park Bistro
In searching for a new executive chef to lead Lake Park Bistro, the Bartolotta Restaurants didn’t have to go far to find the right fit. Chef Amanda Langler, a longtime Bartolotta veteran, will fill the position, following a five-year turn as executive chef at Mr. B’s – A Bartolotta Steakhouse, in Brookfield.
The practiced chef brings more than just experience to the table, said Paul Bartolotta, owner and co-founder of The Bartolotta Restaurants, in a statement. “Amanda is one of the most creative, consistent and respected chefs on our team,” he said. “I could not be more excited to work with her in this new role and see her further elevate the authenticity of Milwaukee’s most beloved bistro.”
The move will be a full-circle moment for Langler, who accepted her first position with the Bartolotta group at Lake Park Bistro more than 13 years ago. Since then, she has held a number of leadership positions within the group, culminating in her most recent role as executive chef for Mr. B’s.
Langler said she is looking forward to returning to the restaurant, 3133 E. Newberry Blvd., and continuing to elevate its reputation for diners throughout the city and beyond.
New Indian Restaurant Opens Downtown
Turmeric Indian Cafe & Bar quietly opened in Yankee Hill earlier this month, bringing a menu of traditional Indian and fusion dishes to the former site of Mykonos Gyro & Cafe.
The new restaurant, 1014 N. Van Buren St., named for the bright orange root with powerful health benefits, is the latest venture from restaurateur Paramjit Kaur, who also operates Royal India.
The restaurant made steady progress toward opening since its February announcement. A revamped outdoor patio with sunflower-colored paint and bright umbrellas was visible to passersby. But it was only last week that the shades were pulled from the windows to reveal the refreshed interior, which sports fresh paint and remodeled bar and seating areas.
Turmeric also recently posted a sidewalk-facing sign and huge, floor-to-ceiling menus for passersby to peruse.
The Wolf on Broadway Opens
A long-awaited downtown restaurant officially opened its doors to the public on Friday.
The Wolf on Broadway, located on the first floor of the Kinn Guesthouse at 600 N. Broadway, is the latest project from Wolfgang Schaefer and Whitney McAllister. The pair also operate Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern and the co-located lifestyle store Orange and Blue Co.
For the new, upscale concept, Schaefer and McAllister have assembled a team of industry veterans that includes Chef de Cuisine Val Bartram and Executive Chef Kristen Schwab, along with Nick Witte as general manager and Erik Wickman as bar manager.
Schwab, whose career has included work at local eateries including DanDan, Odd Duck, Goodkind and others, drew inspiration from her previous gigs in crafting a globally-inspired, playful yet upscale menu for The Wolf on Broadway. Bartram, also an alum of DanDan, brings a complementary skill set to the table.
Press Waffles Will Pop Up On South Side
Press Waffles will resume its pop-ups at Hawthorne Coffee Roasters, offering a lineup of sweet and savory, sugar-crusted liège waffles every Saturday through the end of the year.
The weekly pop-ups will be held 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 18 and 25 and Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 at the southside cafe, 4177 S. Howell Ave., in the Town of Lake neighborhood.
For the duration of the pop-ups, Hawthorne will pause its own food service, including its build-your-own breakfast sandwiches, egg and avocado toast, country biscuits and more. Grab-and-go bakery and soups will still be available.
Press’s return to Hawthorne marks the revival of a tradition dating back to 2016. But this year is a little different, as it follows the October closure of Press’s brick-and-mortar cafe in the Historic Third Ward. It’s also a few weeks past the end of outdoor farmers market season, meaning fans of the sugar-crusted waffles are no longer guaranteed a weekly visit to Trailer Jane, Press’s signature mint-green camper, which doles out warm waffles with seasonal toppings at a variety of locales during the spring, summer and early fall.
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