New Restaurant Slated For High Turnover Southside Space
New Mexican eatery planned to replace short-lived Sunshine Cafe.
Site of former Sunshine Cafe, 831 S. Cesar E Chavez Dr. Photo taken Dec. 12, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.
Sunshine Cafe, a breakfast and brunch spot in the Clarke Square neighborhood, is closed. But the building, 831 S. Cesar E. Chavez Dr., may soon house a new restaurant.
Desiré Calderón opened Sunshine Cafe in November 2022, serving American-style dishes such as eggs, bacon, pancakes and breakfast sandwiches. The goal, she told Urban Milwaukee at the time, was to emulate the feel of a classic diner — similar to Silver Dollar Cafe, a previous occupant of the building.
Sunshine Cafe continued to operate throughout most of 2023, but abruptly went social media silent in August. Additionally, the business’s phone number has been disconnected and a recent trip to the address revealed that its signage has been removed from the building.
In its place, industry veteran Hermogenes Correa Miramontes is preparing to open Carnitas Mi Pueblo. Like its predecessor, the new restaurant would focus only on food, with no plans to serve alcohol.
A tentative menu for the upcoming restaurant features a variety of Mexican dishes including tacos, tortas, burritos and tostadas. For each dish, guests can choose from protein options such as carnitas, buche (pork stomach), cueritos (pork rind), asada, chicharron, molida and pollo pastor.
The menu also includes quesadillas, chiles toreados (blistered peppers) and a variety of Mexican sodas.
The building, originally constructed in 1889, has been home to a number of restaurants throughout the past two decades — most lasting no more than a few years. The building was most recently home to Mr. Taco Wings & Potato from 2019 until 2022. Before that, Heavenly Grille operated at the address from 2018 to 2019.
Miramontes was granted an occupancy permit for the building in early December. His restaurant is slated to occupy 1,920 square feet.
Ruben Arce is the property owner.
Once open, the proposed hours of operation for Carnitas Mi Pueblo are 6 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. daily, according to a license application.
Miramontes did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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