Cafe Corazon Closing Bay View Location
Southside business, one of three for the Mexican restaurant, to shut down in September.
Cafe Corazon Bay View, 2394 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Photo taken July 6, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene.
Cafe Corazon will close its Bay View location by the end of summer, laying off more than two dozen employees in the process.
Owners George and Wendy Mireles submitted a WARN notice to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development on July 1, indicating plans to begin terminations in September.
WARN, short for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, is a federal law requiring employers with 100 or more employees to provide advance written notice of certain plant closings and mass layoffs. Cafe Corazon does not meet that threshold but voluntarily submitted the notice.
About 26 employees will be terminated as a result of the closure, according to the notice, though the Mireleses said they are working to help team members find positions at Cafe Corazon’s other locations. The company is not unionized.
“We are incredibly thankful to our Bay View guests who have become like family to us,” ownership shared in a statement. “People have fallen in love, celebrated major life moments, and made lasting friendships in our Bay View restaurant. We are also grateful to our amazing team members, who have fed and served our guests for the last decade in Bay View.”
News of the imminent closure comes just over a decade into the Mexican restaurant’s tenure at 2394 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., where it opened in early 2016. The Mireleses, who purchased the building in 2015, said they’ve made “the difficult decision” to put the property up for sale.
Cafe Corazon also operates locations in Riverwest and Brown Deer, which opened in 2009 and 2022, respectively. The company previously operated a vendor stall at Mequon Public Market, which closed in late 2022. Leadership said the remaining restaurants will continue “without interruption.”
Cafe Corazon is known for traditional Mexican dishes, offering tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and burritos, alongside specialty plates such as salmon tostadas and empanadas. The restaurant also serves weekend brunch, a full bar program and a separate vegan menu.
The Mireleses, who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area before relocating to Milwaukee, advertise Cafe Corazon as a farm-to-table business, sourcing beef and produce from local farmers and their own urban garden, according to the business’s website.
In April 2025, employees sued the company, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) related to tip-pooling practices. The lawsuit is ongoing, though online court filings indicate the parties reached a settlement agreement in May and must file a notice of dismissal or status update no later than July 24, 2026.
Cafe Corazon is expected to continue operations in Bay View until the building sells. The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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