Lisa’s Pizza Adding Late-Night Menu
Plus: Two taverns planned, a new-to-Milwaukee brewery and Halal Restaurant Week.
Lisa’s Pizza, 2961 N. Oakland Ave. Photo taken May 31, 2025 by Sophie Bolich.
Lisa’s Pizza is testing out a late-night menu next month, with hopes of making its after-dark offerings a permanent addition.
Starting June 7, the restaurant at 2961 N. Oakland Ave. invites diners to “swing by the side door” from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. every Friday and Saturday for personal pizzas, chicken wings and sweet treats like tiramisu doughnuts and mini cannolis.
Additional “munchies” include eggplant fries, breaded mushrooms and jalapeno poppers.
Lisa’s Late Night, is set to run through the end of June. At that point, owners Hannah O’Hara and Dean Rein will decide whether or not to continue the promotion.
Since taking ownership in early 2024, O’Hara and Rein have made several small updates to the longtime East Side pizza spot. Those include building a new sidewalk patio, launching online ordering, introducing a craft cocktail list and implementing a featured artist program — all while preserving the former owners’ beloved pizza recipe.
A full menu and operating hours are available to view online.
Lombardi Brewing Details Plans For Milwaukee Brewery
Lombardi Brewing Company is poised to take its biggest leap yet with the launch of its flagship brewery and taproom in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley.
On Thursday, owners John Lombardi, Amanda Gethers and Tim Kunze officially announced plans to take over the former City Lights Brewing Co. space at 2200 W. Mt. Vernon Ave.—a location chosen for its “industrial charm, ideal brewing layout and central location within the heart of Milwaukee,” according to a news release.
Urban Milwaukee, using data from a permit request, initially reported on the plans Tuesday.
The brewery gets its recognizable name from co-owner Lombardi, whose grandfather, Vince, is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. His other grandfather was a successful beer distributor in North Dakota. Together, their legacies inspired Lombardi’s “philosophy of balancing work and play.”
Mexican Restaurant Planned For Site of Longtime Polish Restaurant
Milwaukee restaurateur Misael Mazaba plans to open a new Mexican restaurant on the city’s South Side.
Mazaba, co-owner of El Tsunami restaurants at 2001 W. Lincoln Ave. and 2222 S. 13th St., recently filed a license application for Mazaba Restaurant at 3577 S. 13th St., just over a mile south of his existing 13th Street location.
A proposed menu highlights a variety of Mexican breakfast dishes—such as huevos rancheros and huevos con chorizo—alongside entrees like carne asada, chicken fajitas and beef tongue with salsa verde. A dedicated seafood section offers whole fish, ceviche and mojarra soup.
Gorditas, tamales, empanadas and other traditional items would also be available, along with a kid’s menu that includes chicken tenders, cheeseburgers and child-sized portions of tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas.
New Downtown Bar Promises ‘Best Sandwiches’ and ‘Dive Bar Prices’
It’s no 9-to-5, but Your Office will still pour a cup of ambition.
The new bar and restaurant is proposed to open this summer at 763 N. Milwaukee St., serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and “craft cocktails at dive bar prices.”
That’s according to owners Lisa Proeber, Nick Starr and Michael Sorge, who officially introduced the new concept Thursday morning. The upcoming tavern is set to replace My Office, which closed in 2020 after more than 50 years in business. Based on a permit filing, Urban Milwaukee first reported on the plan last week.
Described as a “community establishment,” Your Office plans to open daily from early morning until late night with a sandwich-focused menu and dive bar-style staples like pull tabs, slot machines and bar dice. Guests can also expect local sports and entertainment on the tavern’s TV.
Stalled Tavern Coming to Williamsburg Neighborhood?
A new tavern, Yacks on Richards, is proposed to open in the former Roth’s Inn at 3805 N. Richards St., according to a liquor license application filed with the City of Milwaukee.
The April 29 filing marks a revival of an earlier plan that never came to fruition, though city records show steady progress at the Williamsburg building over the past several years.
Co-owners Tumara and Ramon Davis purchased the building in 2017 and were granted occupancy in 2022. Since then, they’ve completed plumbing and electrical work, and in April, submitted plans for a kitchen remodel.
A floor plan for the 2,320-square-foot tavern space includes two seating areas and a bar, along with a small outdoor smoking area and parking lot along the north and west sides of the property.
Mexican Restaurant For Howell Avenue
The former Hot Dish Pantry at 4125 S. Howell Ave. recently debuted a fresh coat of sunny yellow paint — a sign of change ahead, as a new concept, Flor de Piña, prepares to blossom in the space.
Maricela Mireles Martinez is behind the family-owned restaurant — her first business venture. She plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with tropical cocktails like piña coladas and a signature michelada recipe, known to convert even non-beer drinkers.
Flor de Piña, Spanish for “pineapple flower,” is a traditional dance from Tuxtepec, one of the largest cities in the state of Oaxaca. Rooted in indigenous culture, the folk performance features dancers in colorful attire carrying pineapples.
Mireles Martinez will further honor her Oaxacan heritage through the menu, featuring dishes like tlayudas, machucado and grilled corn. The restaurant also plans to serve tacos, enchiladas, chilaquiles, mole, birria, gorditas and more, along with seafood dishes such as ceviche, shrimp soup and oysters.
Acai Cafe Opens in Bay View
After a sunny four-mile route, participants in last weekend’s City Limits Run Club were met with high fives and acai samples from Oakberry, which celebrated its grand opening May 24. Later that morning, the new cafe at 2142 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. welcomed its first 100 guests with complimentary bowls.
Bay View‘s Oakberry, led by Tyler Schmitz and Vanessa Durand, is the first Midwestern location for the global chain with some 600 stores in 35 countries, which sell a health-focused menu of acai bowls and smoothies with a wide variety of topping options.
Guests can customize their own acai, or choose from signature creations like the Crunchy Bowl, layered with chia pudding, granola, strawberries, blueberries and cacao nibs; the Fruity Bowl, with granola, banana, strawberries and passion fruit; and the Tiger Bowl, featuring whey protein, granola, peanut butter and strawberries.
The cafe also sells acai-based smoothies in flavors like Coffee Punch, Blue Fairy and Zen Matcha. Other menu items include energy bars and bites, protein balls, cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and 32-ounce “buckets” of acai puree for at-home bowls.
Owner Shares Plans For New Riverside Restaurant
JoSa’ on the River, a new restaurant proposed for downtown Milwaukee, aims to bring American fusion cuisine to the former Pier 106 Seafood Tavern at 106 W. Wells St.
The concept comes from Jamilah Monroe, who plans to reimagine the vacant riverside space as an upscale restaurant pairing dishes like jerk chicken with craft cocktails such as martinis and cosmopolitans.
Plans also call for a seasonal outdoor patio as part of the restaurant, along with a separate private event venue in the adjacent space, formerly home to Brunch.
Both previous businesses left the building after water from the nearby Milwaukee River flooded the basement in 2019. Brunch, now renamed Brunch It Up, reopened at 714 N. Milwaukee St., while Pier 106 announced its permanent closure in early 2020.
Takeout Restaurant Planned Near Crisol Corridor
A new restaurant specializing in steak and seafood is expected to open in the coming months at 1567 W. Oklahoma Ave. — but don’t expect votives and white tablecloths.
Latino Grill House will operate as a takeout-only spot, according to a license application, serving shrimp, lobster, filets and more from a 672-square-foot storefront.
The proposed restaurant is led by Edgar Guaman and would fill the space formerly occupied by Ricanmex Frappes & Grill, which recently relocated to 4350 S. 27th St. and reopened earlier this month.
Guaman notes prior industry experience in his application, which also outlines plans to offer catering and delivery.
Halal Restaurant Week Returns June 7
Milwaukee food lovers are spoiled in late spring. Not only are patios reopening with alfresco snacks and refreshing drinks, but a flurry of food events — from Downtown Dining Week to the first bites of festival season — is also filling the calendar.
Among them is the third installment of Halal Restaurant Week, taking place June 7 through 15 at nearly a dozen participating restaurants across the Milwaukee area.
The full list includes Amilinda, Fitzy’s Cafe, Hue Asian Kitchen, Joey Gerard’s, Mr. B’s, Onesto, Smoke Shack, Stone Bowl Grill, Sweet Diner, Tomken’s Grill and KPOT in Greenfield.
Throughout the week, each establishment will offer a specially crafted menu that follows halal dietary guidelines while also exploring a wide range of cuisines — including Korean, Spanish, Portuguese and American.
Tre Rivali Offers Delicious Brunches
The next time you bring your credit cards and weekend appetite to the Third Ward, make your first stop Tre Rivali for their brunch.
After two brunches at this restaurant located in the Journeyman Hotel at the intersection of Chicago and Broadway, friends and I can attest to the deliciousness of everything we ordered in this Mediterranean-inspired restaurant.
Perhaps because we came for brunch, we noticed there was a limited number of Mediterranean dishes on the menu, but the bartender found a way to infuse a bit of Greece in the bloody mary by including cubes of halloumi cheese. The drink was spicy and light and a fine way to start brunch in this restaurant that features six separate dining rooms. I counted.
Sharks Fish & Chicken Reopening on Villard Avenue
A longtime location for Sharks Fish & Chicken is poised to reopen this summer after an 18-month closure due to a fire.
The takeout-focused restaurant, serving sandwiches, chicken wings and a wide variety of fried seafood, will soon return to business with a similar menu and business model, owner Ayman Amali told Urban Milwaukee.
Located at 5838 W. Villard Ave., the revamped restaurant will also feature several new additions to its menu, along with slightly lower prices compared to similar concepts throughout the city, Amali said.
While an exact date is still unknown, Amali said he could reopen as soon as next month.
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