Julie Mae’s Plans Mid-Summer Opening on Northwest Side

7604 W. Burleigh St. Photo taken June 18, 2025 by Sophie Bolich.

No matter the setting — from counter-service seafood joints to basement blues lounges — food has always been the focal point for industry veterans Craig and Rita Willis.

Now, the couple is returning to their roots with a new concept built around scratch-made family recipes.

Julie Mae’s Southern Cooking is set to open this summer, bringing comforting entrees, fresh salads and homestyle sides to a former Pizza Hut at 7604 W. Burleigh St.

Urban Milwaukee first reported on the license application for the restaurant last week and has since talked Craig Willis about the venture.

“This was something that we always felt was our strong point: our food,” Craig noted. “We were doing entertainment lounges and all kinds of other stuff — and the food has always been the backbone of that — but we’ve never done just a specific restaurant.”

Though marketed as quick-service, Julie Mae’s isn’t a typical fast-food restaurant. While some operations “cut corners” with canned or pre-made ingredients, the Willises promise the opposite.

Collard greens are cleaned, hand-cut and seasoned with smoked turkey; the gravy is made using real meat drippings and yams are peeled and chopped by hand, Craig said. “It really does make a big difference.”

But the “slow food” won’t come with a long wait. “There’s methods to streamline that food and get it out in a timely fashion — we don’t want people showing up and waiting an hour to get their meal,” Craig said. “We want to have it ready for them.”

The Southern-style menu could feature entrees like brown sugar salmon, oxtails, lamb chops, catfish, and perch — with grilled seafood options in addition to fried — along with a selection of fresh salads topped with proteins such as catfish, shrimp or cod.

Guests can also expect sides like collard greens, yams and macaroni and cheese. The latter, made with three different cheeses, remains a closely guarded secret.

“I can’t tell you all of the ingredients — my wife would kill me,” Craig joked. “But the mac and cheese that we have is just to die for.”

The recipe is just one of many collected over the decades — all of which will find a permanent home at Julie Mae’s, named for Rita’s late mother.

“She’s the source of a lot of the dishes and … the Southern comfort food we’re offering,” Craig said, noting that the Jackson, Mississippi native was “an excellent cook.” The proposed restaurant will honor her memory.

While honoring its past through Julie Mae, the restaurant seeks to feed the future by showing up for — and giving back to — Milwaukee.

“We’re looking forward to providing the city with something special,” Craig said. “We’re looking forward to serving the community we operate in.”

Since installing some of its exterior signage, the couple has received “a lot of excitement from the community,” Rita added. “It sounds like it’s going to be a needed addition … so we’re glad to offer that.”

A license for Julie Mae’s Southern Cooking is pending before the Milwaukee licenses committee. If approved, the restaurant aims to open in late July or early August with an initial focus on lunch and dinner — though the Willises have not ruled out the possibility of adding breakfast service.

The restaurant’s proposed hours are Tuesday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Julie Mae’s will offer meals for takeout only.

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