The Return of Brunch

Downtown breakfast and lunch café Brunch has reopened in a new location, a 6,000-square-foot space at 714 N. Milwaukee St., after a flood last spring caused damage to the original location at 800 N. Plankinton Ave.

Brunch owner Morgan Sampson said she has been preparing for the move for several months. She considers the flooding from the nearby Milwaukee River, which affected the restaurant’s basement in May, to be “a blessing in disguise.” “Now we are in a bigger, better location,” she said of the Milwaukee Street location and the former home to Asian-fusion restaurant Sake Tumi (later Red Buddha Lounge), which closed this past year. “We’ve about doubled our capacity.”

Sampson opened the original Plankinton Avenue restaurant in 2016, and a location at 18895 W. Capitol Dr. in Brookfield in 2018. Brunch serves a mix of traditional breakfast favorites with a local twist, including the Wiscomelette (eggs with Johnsonville bratwurst, caramelized onions and cheese curds), the Plankinton Avelette (ham, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and roasted peppers), and dessert-like dishes such as s’mores pancakes (graham cracker pancakes with chocolate chips and marshmallow glaze) and lemonberry pancakes (blueberry pancakes with lemon curd and whipped cream and blueberry syrup).

Sampson noted that other popular menu items include avocado toast and avocado egg BLT, and the Brunch chef regularly adds new and inventive fare to the menu. Brunch also offers many varieties of Bloody Marys and cocktails like mimosas, as well as a kids’ menu and gluten-free and vegetarian and vegan menu options.

A grand opening celebration featuring free mimosas and an appearance by personnel from radio station 99.1 FM (“The Mix”) will be held next week Saturday and Sunday (September 28-29).

Sampson said that, after a hiatus of several months, she is looking forward to re-establishing her restaurant in downtown Milwaukee, and she’s hoping to attract even more clientele this time around.

“We’re very excited to reopen and see our customers again,” Sampson said.

Brunch

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