East Side Pizza Restaurant Closes
Cafe Terrazza and Baccara bar have closed after just a few months in business.
Site of Baccara and Cafe Terrazza, 2856 N.Oakland Ave. Photo taken Sept. 11, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.
Cafe Terrazza, a wood-fired pizza restaurant on the East Side, has closed after just a few months in business. The restaurant opened in September in tandem with the next door Baccara, 2856 N. Oakland Ave.
A Tuesday evening visit revealed both establishments to be dark, with locked doors and nobody inside. The business’ signage has also been removed. Neither, however, has shared news of — or a reason for — the sudden closure. A phone call to owner Donnie Dries went unanswered.
The hospitality venture was a new one for Dries, who operates Dries Painting & Restoration, but had no prior industry experience. He did, however, have an eye for design, and used his own company to spruce up the building’s interior. Meanwhile, he hired a childhood friend to lead the kitchen.
The visual refresh generated buzz throughout the summer, bringing new life, albeit briefly, to side-by-side storefronts that previously sat empty for more than five years. Former occupants Monster Pizza and Black Rose Irish Pub closed in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
During its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tenure in the neighborhood, Cafe Terrazza served pizza, pasta and other Italian eats. A soft-opening menu included spaghetti, lasagna, baked mostaccioli, chicken parmesan and fettuccine alfredo — all served with a choice of meatballs or Italian sausage as well as soup or salad.
The next door Bacarra emphasized bar operations over food, but offered an abbreviated menu of finger foods such as nachos, chicken tenders, chicken wings, cheese curds and jalapeno poppers. Salads, sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers were also available.
In addition to serving a variety of beers, seltzers and mixed drinks, the bar was outfitted with a number of TVs, amusement machines, darts and pull tabs, as well as a VIP area complete with leather couches, LED lighting and potted palm trees.
As Cafe Terrazza exits, a number of nearby pizza restaurants remain open. For a quick fix, Little Caesars is located less than a block south. Lisa’s Pizza, a longstanding family-owned restaurant, is about a block to the north. Yet another pizza joint, Sal’s Pizza, is across the street from Lisa’s.
Update: After publication, Dries informed Urban Milwaukee that he chose to close the businesses and negotiate out of the lease as a result of consistent noise complaints from the landlord.
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