New Vendors for East-Side Food Hall

Crossroads Collective food hall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Crossroads Collective (2238 N. Farwell Ave.) has announced two local businesses will be joining the food hall’s ranks. SmallPie will be Crossroad’s newest vendor, while a partnership with Pilcrow Coffee will make full cafe service available.

The SmallPie stall will open in the coming weeks, filling the vacancy left by the Laughing Taco’s closure at the food hall in May. The cafe specializes in meat and veggie-filled hand pies, along with bagels, quiche, sliced pie and pastries. SmallPie is owned by Pie Inc., which also operates Honeypie Cafe, Honeypie Bakeshop and Palomino. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to bring our pies up to the East Side,” said Pie, Inc. managing partner, Valeri Lucks in a press release. “We are looking forward to being a part of the neighborhood.”

Additionally, Pilcrow Coffee’s beans and cold brew coffee will now be served at a full coffee and espresso bar in conjunction with Crossroad’s drink bar, The Pharmacy. While The Pharmacy already serves Pilcrow’s Cold Brew Nitro and Sweet & Creamy nitro latte, it will now offer espresso, drip coffee, lattes and caffeinated cocktails. “What excites us at Pilcrow Coffee,” says owner, Ryan Hoban, “is bringing our coffee to the East Side of Milwaukee in such a rad concept and adding to the rich fabric already curated at Crossroads.”

RedBrick Pizza Debuts in Bay View

RedBrick Pizza Kitchen Cafe. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The fast-casual pizza chain RedBrick Pizza Kitchen Cafe opened its first Midwest restaurant in Bay View on September 1st. The eatery, located at 2202 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., is operated by Jay Vermeulen and an unnamed partner. The space is located on the west side of the ground floor of the Vue Apartments, and was designed by Anderson Ashton Design/Build and Allume Architects.

Urban Milwaukee discussed RedBrick’s offerings earlier in the week:

During an interview with Urban Milwaukee in June, Vermeulen described RedBrick’s pizza-making process as “theater style.” Customers are able to watch as the pizza is being made and have the option of choosing toppings along the way. One-thousand-degree ovens cook the pizzas in three to five minutes. RedBrick is also known for having fresh ingredients, as well as optional organic sauce and gluten-free dough.

Aside from build-your-own pizza, RedBrick has an additional 17 pizza recipes, including four cheese, pepperoni suprema, veggie gourmet works, prosciutto, thai chicken, greek and more. Salads, breadsticks and different flavors of Fhazani (a specialty Italian sandwich) are also available to order. In June, Vermeulen said that RedBrick has plans to eventually serve beer and wine from local microbreweries and wineries.

Hours of operation at RedBrick Pizza Kitchen Cafe are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Press Au Marché Opens in Third Ward

Last month, Press Au Marché was slated for an “early September” opening and as it turns out, that prediction was spot-on. The specialty Belgian liège waffle company opened its brick-and-mortar cafe on September 3rd. The cafe is owned by Press Waffles’ founders, Aaron Rosko and Emily Thomas.

Press Au Marché offers made-to-order waffles from 7 a.m to 11 a.m. The cafe also partners with chef Justin Schneider (Bartolotta Restaurants, Gracious Catering, Firefly Urban Bar & Grill) to provide a range of sandwiches, soups and salads, which are available after 11 a.m. OMC’s Lori Fredrich paid a visit and has the low-down on the official menu:

Press au Marche features an assortment of pearl sugar-studded made-to-order liege waffles with toppings including powdered sugar, nutella and speculoos ($5-6) along with custom combinations like housemade lemon curd, blueberry and whipped cream (pictured, $8.50) or honeyed goat cheese and chutney ($7.50) and a rotating featured waffle of the moment…

Among the sandwiches are tasty vegetarian options including soft Tribeca Ovens baguette topped with roasted tomatoes, Saxon gouda, arugula and garlic thyme oil ($7); strawberries, brie and basil ($7) or marinated beets, chevre, arugula and rosemary walnuts ($8)…

Meanwhile, market salads include meal-portioned options like Nicoise salad with potatoes, haricot verts, hard cooked egg, tomato, olives and shallot dijon vinaigrette ($9) and a delicious Mediterranean take on Panzanella salad with arugula, croutons, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives and a basil and red wine vinaigrette ($8).

Press Au Marché also serves Anodyne coffee and espresso, Rishi hot and iced teas, sparkling water and other bottled beverages. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday. The cafe will also be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays starting October 19th.

Indeed Brewing Opens

530 S. 2nd St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held today marking the opening of Indeed Brewing‘s pilot brewery in Walker’s Point. The Minneapolis-based company will operate a brewery and taproom at 530 S. 2nd St. Indeed purchased the 8,800-square-foot building for $542,500 last year. Urban Milwaukee details some of the pours available at the new facility:

On the beer menu are a handful of lighter beers, such as the Mexican Honey Light (lager) and Zwickelbier (unfiltered German style pilsner), as well as more hoppy brews like the Hop Dab (experimental IPA) and the Day Tripper (pale ale). Other selections include Oktoberfest, L.S.D. (honey ale with lavender, sunflower honey, dates) and the Wooden Soul:Pinot Hearbreak (sour red ale with Pinot Noir grapes). While Indeed does not have any gluten-free beers, most of the beers (excluding those containing honey) are vegan-friendly.

The Walker’s Point location will also offer six beers that are only available in Milwaukee. Among them are the Soft Shock (New England IPA), Hello Milwaukee (American light lager) and the Knock Off (amber ale), to name a few. A CBD-infused seltzer called Lull will also be served. A full list of beer and other beverages available at the Walker’s Point location can be found on Indeed Brewing’s website.

Indeed Brewing’s taproom will be open 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday to Thursday, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

New Coffee House Downtown

916 E. State St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A new coffee joint is expected to open at 916 E. State St. this fall. The cafe, called Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea, will be located in the same building as the Vantage Park Apartments. Urban Milwaukee’s Catherine Jozwik writes about Fairgrounds’ menu:

The specialty coffee shop will offer a variety of coffees from local, regional and national roasters including Colectivo, Minneapolis-based Spyhouse Coffee Roasters, Chicago’s Dark Matter Coffee, and Stumptown in Portland, Oregon. An espresso and matcha bar using state-of-the-art equipment will give customers the option to choose between tried-and-true drinks such as a latte, cappuccino, cortado or americano or a café specialty like the Vosges Chocolate Truffle Mocha, or to create their own drinks by adding several different flavor shots…

Fairgrounds will also serve sparkling teas, kombucha drinks, and cold brews on tap, as well as specialty elixirs and a menu of locally-sourced salads, sandwiches and appetizers with gluten-free and vegan food options.

Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea currently operates five locations in Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, and will be opening two more shops in Oak Park and Vernon Hills, Illinois.

Now Closing: Sprecher Taproom in Walkers Point

700-706 S. 5th St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Sprecher Brewing Company closed its taproom at 706 S. 5th St. last weekend. “It is with a heavy heart that I have to say that this weekend will be our last at the Walker’s Point location as the building we are in has been sold,” Sprecher Taproom posted on its Facebook page last Friday.  The brewery had been leasing the S. 5th St. space for about a year and a half before before building owner South Fifth Properties, LLC. initiated a purchase contract with an unknown buyer.

For more details see our story on the closing.

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