Cafe With Healthy Options Proposed For Center Street
Proposal calls for renovating vacant, city-owned building.
Rendering of proposed Tomica’s Corner Cafe at 1633-1635 W. Center St. Image courtesy of the Milwaukee Department of City Development.
A vacant northside building could soon become a hub for healthy and affordable meals under a proposal from industry veteran Tomica Thomas.
The former operator of Fast Break Cafe intends to purchase and redevelop the city-owned property at 1633-1635 W. Center St. as a site for her new business, Tomica’s Corner Cafe.
The Milwaukee Common Council‘s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee unanimously approved the sale at its Feb. 24 hearing. Thomas will pay $40,000 for the property, which the city acquired through tax foreclosure in July 2025.
Once open, Tomica’s Corner Cafe would focus on nutritious breakfast and lunch options such as salads, wraps, sandwiches, parfaits and smoothies. A dinner menu would rotate daily, featuring comfort foods like steak and rice, Caribbean oxtails and soul food.
The business aims to fill a gap for healthy meals in the neighborhood, Thomas said in her proposal. “The area is a food desert and I want to provide heightened awareness about how the food choices we make can prevent us from a better, healthier outcome in our daily lives,” she wrote.
A flexible service model would offer both grab-and-go and sit-down dining. On Sundays, the cafe plans to distribute takeout meals to parents, children and homeless individuals — a move Thomas said reflects her “commitment to community service, love [and] servitude toward her neighbors.”
Committee members voiced strong support for the plan, with Alderman Robert Bauman calling it “a very nice idea.”
“I’m excited about this location and what you’re going to offer,” area Alderman Russell W. Stamper II added. “Healthy and fresh food for the community will be much-welcomed and I believe you’ll get a positive response.”
The cafe’s neighborhood focus would extend beyond healthy food and drink. Thomas hopes to eventually host programming such as live music, poetry readings and book clubs.
The redevelopment is estimated at $200,000, covering kitchen and restaurant buildout, equipment, signage, lighting and other expenses. A $32,000 reimbursement grant from DCD’s Commercial Corridor Team will help with white-boxing, with additional funding from Thomas’s savings and a local lender. She plans to live on the building’s second floor.
Along with interior upgrades, Thomas plans to revamp a vacant lot on the building’s east side into a patio for seasonal outdoor dining. The business would also offer bicycle parking.
Additional permits, including a food dealer’s license, are required before the cafe opens, with proposed hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Thomas did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
1633-1635 W. Center St.. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
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