Dairyland Eyes Lisbon Avenue Restaurant
Occupancy permit by custard business has plan for a sit-down restaurant.
7602 W. Lisbon Ave. in May 2024. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
A popular burger and custard concept could expand with a new location on the Northwest Side, according to an occupancy permit recently submitted to the City of Milwaukee.
Dairyland Old-Fashioned Frozen Custard & Hamburgers, a vendor at 3rd Street Market Hall, is eyeing a building at 7602 W. Lisbon Ave., with plans to open a restaurant offering sit-down dining.
When reached by Urban Milwaukee, co-founder Joe McCormick, who submitted the application for the proposed restaurant, said there is no story at this time and declined further comment.
McCormick co-founded Dairyland in 2020 with partners Kurt, Katie and Brent Fogle. Originally launched as a takeout operation in Oak Creek, the business went on to launch locations at Zocalo Food Park and Central Waters Brewing Co.
In 2021, Dairyland was named the anchor tenant for 3rd Street Market Hall, where it continues to operate — also overseeing the market’s hawker stalls.
Dairyland’s nostalgic menu draws inspiration from classic roadside burger stands, with options like The Whiz — topped with cheese sauce, brown mustard and fried onions — and a patty melt served on grilled rye bread. The restaurant also serves chicken sandwiches, cheese curds, onion rings and a variety of frozen custard-based desserts.
The Lisbon Avenue proposal notes plans for a “full remodel” of the building, which was most recently home to A&J Grill. The former counter-service restaurant featured a fully halal menu of chicken wings, fried fish, sandwiches, burgers and Indian dishes.
A&J Grill is now marked as temporarily closed, and its website has been deactivated.
The property at 7602 W. Lisbon Ave. is owned by 7602 LLC, which lists Muhammad Noman Rafiq as its registered agent. It includes a 1,848-square-foot building on a 22,124-square-foot corner lot in the Nash Park neighborhood.
The vehicle-heavy intersection bordering the property may soon see changes, thanks to a traffic-calming project that broke ground on Lisbon Avenue in April. The redesign, stretching between N. 100th and W. Burleigh streets, is expected to span two construction seasons.
Planned improvements include narrowing the roadway from four lanes to two, adding raised and separated bike lanes, curb extensions to reduce pedestrian crossing distances and raised crosswalks to slow traffic at key intersections.
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“…topped with cheese sauce,….” Instead of real cheese??!