Empanada Vendor Opens at Public Market
Brady Street's La Masa has expanded with a new vendor stand at the market.
La Masa at Milwaukee Public Market. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Market.
La Masa opened in a newly constructed vendor stand at the Milwaukee Public Market this week, adding Argentine-inspired empanadas to an existing lineup of global eats, pastries, seafood and other specialty foods.
The new restaurant is located near the market’s central staircase, across from Thief Wine Shop & Bar and Freese’s Candy Shoppe. It brings a fresh feel and additional seating to the former site of On the Bus, which offered an all-vegan menu from behind the wheel of a turquoise Volkswagen.
La Masa’s stand includes a takeout counter and a dine-in bar, and also features a floral ceiling installation and murals by Wisconsin artist Colleen Drew.
“La Masa represents the kind of evolution we value at the market,” said Paul Schwartz, executive director of the Milwaukee Public Market and Business Improvement District No. 2. “The impressively redesigned space, paired with a fresh and authentic menu, creates an experience that invites people to gather and enjoy something that accommodates a range of dining preferences.”
Like its sister restaurant on Brady Street, the public market location offers oven-baked empanadas in flavors like beef barbacoa, soy chorizo potato and bacon cheese curd. Mini empanadas, including an everything bagel variety and one filled with cookie dough, are also available, alongside gluten-free empanada bowls and a vegetarian black bean burger.
A beverage program features signature cocktails like mojitos, pisco sours, caipirinhas, tall Fernet & Coke — an Argentine-inspired highball — and house red sangria, which is also available to go in decorative 1-liter glass bottles. A selection of beer and classic cocktails rounds out the drink offerings.
Co-owner Megan Todd described the business as “a fusion space,” combining Latin inspiration with a Wisconsin twist. “What I’m most excited for people to experience at our Milwaukee Public Market location is the environment we’ve created,” she said in a statement.
Todd runs the restaurant with her brother, Brad. The siblings have operated their flagship at 1300 E. Brady St. for more than a decade.
La Masa’s public market stand is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This article has been updated to clarify the co-owners’ relationship
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