Merriment Social Launches Patio Pop-Up
Plus: More coffee, a new grocery store and a big win for Pali Park
Chip’s pop-up at Merriment Social. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
Chip on your shoulder? Merriment Social has some guac for that.
The Harbor View bar and restaurant is soon to launch a limited-time pop-up, Chip’s, bringing summery snacks like fish tacos and Tajin-dusted watermelon to the shaded patio at 240 E. Pittsburgh Ave.
But the centerpiece — and namesake item — will be handmade, house-fried tortilla chips, served warm with fresh guacamole or salsa.
A selection of tropical cocktails, beer, seltzers, wine and boozy slushies billed as “colder than a January walk to Real Chili” round out the short-and-sweet menu.
Chip’s opened to the public July 5, signaling its arrival with sunshiny signage and beach-themed decor. Bonus: slushies are served in coconut shell cups.
Inside, Merriment Social continues to serve its typical playful pub fare, with offerings like fried brussels sprouts topped with pie crust crumbles, wagyu smashburgers with croissant buns and French dip cheesesteak sandwiches.
The restaurant also serves a wide variety of beverages — both alcoholic and non — as well as weekend brunch.
For pop-up information and updates, visit the Chip’s Instagram page.
Proposed Food Truck Park Wins Key Approval
A food truck park billed as “the Zócalo of the north” is moving forward on Water Street — but not without bitter opposition from nearby residents and one city official.
The proposed Pali Park would activate a blighted lot at 1652 N. Water St., housing up to six food trucks while serving as a hub for entertainment and events. Brothers Murad and Mazin Hamdan would co-own the business with this cousin, Ramzey Huneidi, under Nexgen Partners.
“It’s been an eyesore for years,” Mazin said during a recent license hearing. “We just want to bring a nice community park that the East Side and Downtown areas definitely need.”
Following the brothers’ initial proposal in 2024, the Milwaukee Licenses Committee postponed action due to nearby residents’ concerns over noise and litter. However, a reconstituted version was revisited and recommended for approval on Tuesday.
City-Owned Building Could Become Dessert Shop
A tumbledown building at 1100 W. North Ave. has sat vacant for more than two years — its windows boarded up and landscaping overgrown.
But the future looks sweet.
Tashana Windhom Prescott is seeking approval to purchase the city-owned property, with plans to open Baked MKE Dessert Bar in its first-level retail space.
Prescott brings more than two decades of culinary experience to the venture, which would focus on Southern-style desserts like banana pudding, peach cobbler, caramel cakes and more. She plans to utilize family recipes at the future business, described as a “small neighborhood bakery.”
New Bars and Restaurants That Opened in June
The final, sweltering day of June found chef Vanessa Rose hovering over a prep table in her very own restaurant kitchen — deep in concentration as she garnished half-shell oysters with delicate red-veined sorrel.
The dish, created by guest Chef Dana Spandet, united briny oysters with rhubarb mignonette, pickled green strawberries and garlic scapes — served in opalesque shells atop small mountains of pink salt.
It was the opening course for Rose’s Pride Finale Tasting Menu, providing a stunning and summer-forward start to the collaborative dinner held in partnership with chefs Spandet, Gregory Léon, Mary Kastman, Steven Rawson, Max Karol and Nick Hoover.
The special event concluded the first week of service for Mother’s at 2900 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., the first brick-and-mortar location for Rose’s culinary pop-up.
Distillery Buys Part of Harley-Davidson Campus
Milwaukee’s motorcycle headquarters is one step closer to finding its next life.
Central Standard Craft Distillery completed its purchase of a 73,000-square-foot portion of the historic Harley-Davidson complex. The distillery is moving its production facility to a collection of attached, one-story brick buildings at the western edge of Harley-Davidson’s headquarters, 3700 W. Juneau Ave.
The distillery purchased its new home for $1 million. According to Wisconsin Department of Revenue real estate transfer records, the distillery closed on the purchase on June 18 and reported the deal to the state on June 20.
The purchase price reflects the dramatic growth of the distillery. In 2017, co-founder Evan Hughes paid $335,000 for the company’s current distillery, 2330 W. Clybourn St. In 2021, it purchased the location of its Downtown tasting room and restaurant for $935,000 through a limited liability company.
New Plans For Tavern at Turner Hall
The first-floor bar and restaurant space at Turner Hall, vacant since spring 2024, could soon reopen under a new proposal from Pabst Theater Group (PTG).
Gary Witt, the group’s executive director, and Matt Beringer, its chief operating officer, recently filed a liquor license application for a tavern called Turner Hall Ballroom. The proposal shares a name with PTG’s second-level concert venue, housed in the same building at 1040 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.
According to the application, the 5,540-square-foot tavern would provide “beverage service in connection with events at the upstairs Turner Hall Ballroom,” as well as “other neighboring events.”
The future business plans to focus primarily on alcoholic beverages, with an estimated 10% of revenue coming from non-alcoholic drink sales. While there is no current plan for food service, the owners have not ruled it out, noting the potential for a future restaurant in the application.
Pakistani-Indian Restaurant Proposed For Howell Avenue
In Hindi, “baithak” can refer to a gathering or meeting place — particularly one dedicated to socializing, nourishment and connection. That could mean a formal banquet hall or a homey living room, but more often takes the form of a restaurant.
Such is the case for Baithak of Punjab, a new halal eatery proposed to open this summer at 4252 S. Howell Ave.
Led by Ahmad Shahzad, the upcoming restaurant plans to serve a globally diverse menu complemented by a “sober bar” featuring non-alcoholic beers and cocktails, fresh juices and more.
Work is already progressing at the southside building, with updated signage replacing that of previous occupant Marsel’s Pizzeria.
Transfer Pizzeria’s New Patio Will Feature Vintage City Bus
Forget the fast lane. Transfer Pizzeria Cafe is embracing the carpool lane with the upcoming launch of its outdoor patio, featuring a restored 1953 city bus as its centerpiece.
Set to open publicly next month, the updated outdoor space will expand the restaurant with more than a dozen new tables — a significant jump for the mid-sized business, located at 101 W. Mitchell St.
The bus itself, sourced from and restored by Minnesota-based Chameleon Concessions, will also feature seating on board.
Transfer opened a preliminary patio in 2020, allowing it to continue service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, however, the space has largely operated as an extension of its event venue.
New Coffee Shop Opens in Bay View
Vendetta Coffee Bar’s newest location opened its doors Thursday morning, allowing the whir of its espresso grinder and the low hum of customer conversation to mingle with the sound of bicycles whizzing by outside.
The cafe — Vendetta’s third — replaces Interval at 2268 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Its June 26 soft opening coincided with the Bay View stop for Tour of America’s Dairyland, a multi-day, annual road race series featuring some of the fastest professional cyclists from across the world.
Though setup was in full swing — with timing mats and metal barriers lining Kinnickinnic Avenue — quite a few coffee lovers made their way through the fray to Vendetta, filling tables inside or perching on benches scattered throughout the adjacent plaza.
Since announcing initial plans for the expansion last month, Bill Haley and Tom Orlando completed an accelerated transformation of the Bay View building, turning Interval’s light and airy cafe space into a fitting home for Vendetta’s edgier, more moody vibe.
Monterrey Market Opens Third Location, Its Biggest Yet
Monterrey Market celebrated its arrival on Milwaukee’s West Side Thursday morning, marking the occasion with raffles, free samples — and even an a guest appearance from Cheetos mascot Chester Cheetah.
Located in a former Walmart at 7025 W. Main St., the new store is the third for the local grocery chain, which also operates stores at 3014 S. 13th St. and 3920 S. 27th St.
Robert Montemayor, who owns Monterrey Market with his wife, Leonor, was joined by family members, store employees and area Alderwoman Sharlen P. Moore for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
But before breaking out the oversized scissors, Montemayor reflected on the business’s 15-year journey — from its 8,900-square-foot flagship store to the newest, 39,905-square-foot market.
MARN Closing Third Ward Cafe
Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) is winding down operations at its Historic Third Ward art and culture hub amid a “strategic refocus on mission-driven programming,” the nonprofit announced Thursday.
After more than four years at 191 N. Broadway, the public-facing cafe, marketplace and gallery will close its doors at the end of the month. However, MARN said it plans to maintain a presence in the Third Ward following the closure.
“We believe this neighborhood is essential to the city’s creative and cultural identity, and we’re proud to continue being part of it,” the arts-focused organization wrote in a news release. “Our new temporary location will be announced soon, as we carefully plan our next steps.”
But those next steps — at least for now — won’t include the cafe, according to MARN, which cited lofty overhead and management costs with consuming “a significant portion” of its resources, diverting from “what matters most: our artists and members.”
AJ Bombers Announces Closing Date
A popular downtown burger joint known for its peanuts and graffitied walls will shutter by year’s end.
AJ Bombers, which has operated for 16 years at 1247 N. Water St., will close its doors in late 2025, Benson’s Restaurant Group announced Thursday morning. The group, which operates five additional eateries across Milwaukee, did not share an exact closing date.
David Marcus, owner of Benson’s and CEO of Marcus Investments, attributed the decision to the company’s overall health, noting that the closure “made the most business sense for our restaurant group as we look to the future.”
The hospitality company has expanded rapidly in recent years, focusing largely on higher-end dining experiences with restaurants like The Bridgewater Modern Grill and The Edison. It was also involved in the opening of The New Fashioned, located just blocks from AJ Bombers in Deer District, and recently entered new partnerships with the Milwaukee Athletic Club and Sandhill Tree Farm.
Franchisee Shares Plans For Tropical Smoothie Cafe
A new Tropical Smoothie Cafe — the second for Milwaukee — is proposed to open at 626 E. Ogden Ave.
The business, according to franchisee Yash Patel, aims to satisfy an increasing demand for fresh, healthy options in the area, located near the meeting of the Lower East Side, Yankee Hill and East Town neighborhoods.
“After COVID-19, we saw a lot of people make that shift toward healthier food,” he said. “I think Downtown Milwaukee — especially that area next to a college and residential apartment buildings — is going to be a good fit.”
An experienced franchisee, Patel also operates Subway restaurants and liquor and convenience stores throughout Milwaukee, Racine and Burlington. He became involved with Tropical Smoothie through a development agreement several years ago, but faced challenges stemming from a “tough real estate market.”
7 Brew Plans Second Milwaukee Cafe
The seven-item menu that earned 7 Brew Coffee its name quickly expanded after the chain’s 2017 launch. In turn, the fast-growing company is also increasing its local presence, with two new locations upcoming in Milwaukee.
The first is planned for a half-acre site at 3702 S. 27th St., formerly home to Wong’s Wok, Urban Milwaukee reported in May. A second is slated to open at 350 W. Layton Ave., near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
Previously a 1.76-acre site, the Layton Ave. property was split in 2022 following a proposal to develop two fast-food restaurants: Taco John’s and Popeyes. The former opened in 2023, while the fried chicken chain never came to fruition.
Now, MilBrew Holdings, LLC, with design firm Excel Engineering, seeks to redevelop the vacant, 0.69-acre parcel with a 530-square-foot building featuring a walk-up order window as well as a double drive-thru lane. Plans also call for a 250-square-foot standalone cooler and additional parking spaces.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
Now Serving
-
Where to Find Dubai Chocolate
Jun 29th, 2025 by Sophie Bolich
-
Ruby J’s Restaurant Shifts to Catering
Jun 22nd, 2025 by Sophie Bolich
-
Get ‘A Taste of Juneteenth’ at Summerfest
Jun 15th, 2025 by Sophie Bolich
