Shorewood Cafe Will Summer in Bay View
Plus: Barbecue, Asian buffet and a possible downtown beer garden.
Nonfiction Natural Wines. Photo taken May 29, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene. All Rights Reserved.
This love story isn’t a fairy tale; it’s nonfiction. Nonfiction Natural Wines, that is.
On June 1, Shorewood-based Love Cafe will begin a seasonal residency at the Bay View wine bar, serving coffee and espresso drinks, plus flavored matcha and baked goods, throughout the summer.
The pop-up, 2563 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., will operate weekdays from 8 a.m. to noon, activating the sunny, minimalist space during hours when it’s typically underutilized.
In partnership with Sugar Leaf Coffee Roasterie, Love Cafe plans to serve pour-over coffee, cold brew and lattes, along with seasonal specialties like Purple Drink — a matcha or espresso beverage, your choice, mixed with ube-sweetened oat milk — and a tiramisu-inspired cold brew topped with vanilla bean mascarpone, cacao and a cookie.
Non-coffee options include Alive With the Glory of Love, a cacao husk, hibiscus rose and lime iced tea that’s a mouthful in both title and flavor. Matcha drinks come in mango and strawberry-rose flavors and are made with ceremonial-grade powder from Shizuoka, Japan.
Guests can also customize their drinks with housemade syrups including lavender, ube, palo santo and vanilla bean.
Bakery offerings include muffins, cookies and allergy-friendly options such as dairy-free coconut milk cake and chocolate olive oil cake, which is both gluten-free and vegan.
Love Cafe owner Kaleigh Atkinson will continue to operate her Shorewood flagship, which often hosts its own pop-up, Bad English, a Filipino concept led by Atkinson’s partner, Juneil Cabreza.
Nonfiction will also stick to its regular schedule throughout the residency, opening Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Monday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
At Bad Moon Saloon, Comfort Food Gets A Not Bad Upgrade
Bad Moon Saloon has met its match. A new food trailer, Not Bad Foods, is soon to join the rock-‘n’-roll tavern as a resident vendor, offering a menu of comfort food with ingredients that “make it interesting.”
The custom-built trailer made the journey from Texas to Milwaukee. The business is led by Scott Zajork, an industry veteran with years of experience at local standouts including Goodkind, St. Paul Fish Company, DanDan, Snack Boys and The Vanguard, where he spent the past four years overseeing menu development and specials.
“A lot of these guys — all the owners and chefs of these restaurants — have been friends of mine for years,” he said. “I was really trying to explore different cuisines and learn new things from different chefs.”
Takeout-Focused Hmong Buffet Planned for Milwaukee
A new restaurant proposed on the Northwest Side would make it easy to grab a heaping plate of roast duck, noodles and spring rolls in just a few minutes.
Sam Vang and his partner, Choua Lor, plan to open Asian H Express at 3902 N. 76th St., bringing new life to the shuttered Jackie’s Cafe space, while continuing their family’s presence in Milwaukee’s dining scene.
The “H” in Asian H Express stands for Hmong, which will represent the majority of dishes at the all-day restaurant, though Thai and Lao cuisine will also be offered.
Vang said the business will emphasize efficiency, offering a broad range of ready-made foods. Customers will select their preferred items, which will be plated, priced by weight — $12.99 per pound, according to Vang — and packaged for carryout. Dine-in service will not be available.
Beer Garden Could Replace Biggby at Downtown Park
Council Approves New Tavern For Mitchell Street
The southside building at 2000 W. Mitchell St., formerly home to the troubled El Infierno tavern, is poised for a fresh start under a new operator.
Diana Gonzalez opened Machillo’s Place, a laid-back neighborhood tavern featuring alcoholic beverages, pool tables and a jukebox, earlier this month. A proposal also included several amusement machines. The business does not serve food.
Gonzalez appeared before the Licenses Committee in April, citing past experience bartending at her late mother’s taverns. “I’m trying for myself to open a business,” she said.
Area Alderperson JoCasta Zamarripa shared support for the application and praised Gonzalez for her open communication.
Barbecue Restaurant Opens on Appleton Avenue
After a stint in the trucking business led Jeffrey McCloud to Texas, he returned to Wisconsin with a smoker and a deeper passion for barbecue. The experience led him back to his cooking roots — and eventually to the Northwest Side for the launch of his new restaurant, Charlie’s Barbecue.
Slow-smoked ribs, chicken wings and rib tips star at the counter-service eatery, 7870 W. Appleton Ave., though McCloud is also quick to appease the Midwestern preference for grilled meats.
“Up here we grill our food,” he said, noting that customers often prefer charcoal-grilled to smoked meats. At Charlie’s Barbecue, they’ll be able to choose. “I want to service everybody.”
The menu also features catfish and sandwiches including hamburgers, turkey burgers, Philly cheesesteaks and fried Polish sausages, along with sides such as macaroni and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, fries, onion rings and okra.
Filipino Food Truck Plans Brick-And-Mortar Restaurant
After three years on the road, Cocina Filipina is opening its first brick-and-mortar restaurant on Milwaukee’s Near West Side.
The food truck plans to open at 3801 W. Vliet St. in the coming weeks, bringing its Filipino-inspired menu to a fixed location while continuing mobile operations throughout the area.
Owner Lupe Moreno said it’s a much-needed win for the business, which was forced to temporarily close in December because of a fire at its base kitchen.
“It feels like the light at the end of a tunnel that’s been quite dark following the fire,” said Moreno, who runs Cocina Filipina in partnership with Edu Aragon Guzman. “We’re very thankful and super pumped to do this.”
The Long Run of Tony DePalma and Y-NOT II
My connection with the Y-NOT II tavern began in the late 1980s, when the East Pointe neighborhood between E. Ogden Avenue and E. Lyon Street was still a nine-block swath of emptiness The barren patch stretched from the lake to a little-used freeway stub at N. Jackson Street.
When approached from the south, the only sign of life amidst the desolation was neon, and it read “Y-NOT II”.
Why not? It was then a nice, unremarkable place with a rooming house above and cheap apartments nearby, and still some factory jobs remaining for workers who wanted to spend their non-working hours drinking downstairs, maybe while their work clothes were spinning in the dryer of the laundromat next door. You could tell from a block away that there was a person behind this joint. Probably a personality as well.
That’s what you got once you entered the joint and met Anthony F. “Tony” DePalma, the proprietor, who opened this place in 1971. Tony, as he was universally known, was born in Milwaukee in November, 1939, and grew up on N. Booth Street, merely one viaduct and two blocks north of the tavern at 706 E. Lyon St. that he was to guide almost up to his death on May 20th at 86.
Pepperpot Targets Locust Street Expansion
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