New Plan Would Save Former Acapulco Restaurant Building

600-608 W. National Ave. Photo taken Feb. 22, 2024 by Jeramey Jannene.

A long-vacant Walker’s Point building, of which many Milwaukeeans of a certain age have fond, but hazy memories, would see new life under a proposal from Willie Smith.

Smith plans to renovate the three-story building long associated with Acapulco restaurant at 600-608 W. National Ave. The historic brick structure would receive a new first-floor restaurant and two apartments upstairs.

A state grant and historic preservation tax credits would bolster the $2 million project.

“The Acapulco was a mainstay of the Walker’s Point social scene from when it opened in the 1970s until its closure in 2007,” said Department of City Development commercial corridor manager Matt Rejc.

“Especially at bar time,” interjected area alderman and Common Council President José G. Pérez to his colleagues on the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on Thursday morning.

“That was a really good restaurant,” said committee chair Alderman Michael Murphy. “It was,” said Pérez.

Smith isn’t planning to bring back Acapulco and its enchiladas. But he said he is already working with a restaurant group to bring a brunch-focused restaurant in.

“I feel like it would be a great addition to the neighborhood,” said Smith, who, in addition to being a developer, serves as the full-time executive director of the nonprofit Northwest Side Community Development Corporation.

A vacant lot on the east side of the building, part of the property, would be cleaned up as part of the development. Smith said he is pursuing outdoor dining for the restaurant or public art in partnership with the Walker’s Point Association.

He said it would complement the outdoor dining environment just to the northeast at Zocalo Food Park.

Pérez praised Smith’s vision and investment. “The west side of 6th Street has been slightly slower to develop. I think Mr. Smith, his investment, will be the catalyst there,” said the alderman. “He has my full support moving forward.”

Ald. Robert Bauman, the council’s leading preservation advocate, said he was happy to see the proposal encompass the vacant lot, which blights the intersection of W. National Avenue and S. 6th Street. Pérez said oddly shaped lots to the north have prevented the development of the site.

The proposal was before the committee because the city would serve as a pass-through entity for a $250,000 Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation community development investment grant. It sponsored an earlier application.

State and federal historic preservation tax credits are also expected to offset up to 40% of the applicable costs associated with restoring historic components of the structure. The building, according to assessment records, was constructed in 1900 in the Romanesque Revival style.

The vacant lot was created in 2008 after heavy rain destroyed the roof of a vacant building on the site and the two-story brick structure was demolished.

An entity affiliated with developer Joshua Jeffers acquired the Acalpuclo property and a neighboring L-shaped property at 610-616 W. National Ave. in 2019 for $750,000 from the nonprofit Council for the Spanish Speaking. Plans never publicly progressed for the properties, with Jeffers selling the Acapulco property in 2023 to Smith for $250,000. The 610 property was sold for $600,000 to National Avenue Development, LLC, which lists Smith as its registered agent, but was not discussed during the meeting. It includes a two-story building.

The committee unanimously endorsed the proposal, which will go before the full council on Feb. 27.

600-608 W. National Ave.

Related Legislation: File 231135