The Foods That Fuel The Riverwest 24
Plus: A new Northwest Side grocery store, Ger'mama retires and The Soup Market says goodbye.
Free hot dogs on Pierce Street. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
Every year in late July, thousands of cyclists take to the streets of Riverwest for the neighborhood’s unapologetically wacky, overnight biking competition: the Riverwest 24.
Participants traveling on two wheels, training wheels and even the rare penny-farthing ride laps of a 4.6-mile route that includes four main checkpoints, along with optional bonus stops for trivia, karaoke and other playful challenges.
Though pre-race dinner is provided — this year from Cafe Zagora, an incoming tenant at the former Riverwest Co-op & Cafe space — the endurance event can leave cyclists with spent quads and ravenous appetites. Luckily, there are plenty of off-beat opportunities to fuel up along the course.
The 2026 lineup included free popsicles, pizza slices straight from the oven and whole pickles swimming in brine. Nimble bikers could nab a drive-by hot dog along N. Pierce Street, and later, follow up with dessert from so-called Twizzler Alley.
There was, of course, plenty of beer on the ride, alongside shots — both of pickle juice and Bacardi — with chasers ranging from cheese balls to lemonade. Cyclists also shared snacks, with one fake-blood-soaked team passing out O-negative cocktails (vodka and red Gatorade) to fellow participants.
Saturday morning brought Pancakes on Pierce, while a number of vendors turned out to sell food along the route, including MKE Bento, Wonderland, and a pop-up cookout benefiting Gaza.
See the gallery below for some of the best bites we spotted during the event’s 18th installment, which went kickstands up at 7 p.m. Friday and concluded at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Photos
Lounge and Restaurant Proposed at Northside Shopping Center
Acez Lounge, a new destination for live music, cocktails, burgers and seafood, is proposed to open at 6081 N. Teutonia Ave.
Pending city approval, the business would fill a commercial storefront within Silver Mill Shopping Center, a multi-tenant building near the border of Milwaukee and Glendale.
“We’re looking to create something different for the nightlife-slash-restaurant life on the North Side of Milwaukee,” owner and veteran club promoter Timothy Milton told Urban Milwaukee.
Since taking over the location earlier this year, Milton has completed extensive renovations, adding new furniture and finishes and lining the spacious lounge with all-black booths.
New Bar Proposed at Former Sam’s Tap Site
A new operator is slated to take over the former Sam’s Tap, with plans to reopen the neighborhood tavern as Kelly’s Tap.
Kelly Brzycki and co-owner Angelina Brzycki recently submitted a proposal for a new tavern at 3118 S. Chase Ave., which would replace the business operated by Sam Leaf for nearly a decade before its 2025 closure.
The tiny tavern has room for just under 40 patrons and features a small outdoor patio, according to a license application. Like its predecessor, Kelly’s Tap would offer alcoholic beverages and a food program, but the owners did not include a proposed menu with the application.
Sam’s Tap served a casual menu of bar food, including options like hot dogs and sandwiches.
Soul Food Restaurant Planned For Near South Side
Milwaukee’s near South Side could soon see new options for soul food, as Trap Kitchen prepares to open at 551 W. Becher St.
Wanda Smith is behind the proposed business, which received unanimous support from the Licenses Committee on Tuesday and is now awaiting final city approval before opening.
Smith, who previously owned East Side Pub & Grill at 2178 N. Prospect Ave., plans a new approach at Trap Kitchen.
The upcoming restaurant will feature Southern dishes such as fried chicken, greens, pot roast and macaroni and cheese, she told committee members. Social media posts indicate the business would also offer Saturday brunch — complete with free mimosas during its anticipated Aug. 1 grand opening.
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Polonia Could Get New Corner Tavern
A new southside tavern, Camaleon Bar, is proposed to open at 2900 S. 13th St., filling a vacancy at the longtime neighborhood watering hole most recently home to Nick’s Anvil Inn.
Jose Luis Ibarra Flores leads the upcoming business, whose license received unanimous support from the Licenses Committee on Tuesday. The proposal now heads to the Milwaukee Common Council for final approval July 31.
City officials, including area Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, endorsed the business during its initial hearing.
“The proposal is promising,” said Terri Williams, a legislative assistant for the alderwoman’s office, noting that the prior operation was “a very quiet bar” — an ideal match for the surrounding residential neighborhood. “We have no objections and wish them the best,” she added in reference to Camaleon.
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$100,000 Grant Will Support Kitchen at MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary
For years, volunteers from MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary have served meals, distributed fresh produce and connected with patrons through cooking tips and recipe suggestions.
A new commercial kitchen, supported in part by a $100,000 grant from Impact100 Greater Milwaukee, would help consolidate those services on the third floor of the organization’s northside resource hub, 2461 W. Center St.
Earlier this summer, the sanctuary was one of five local organizations to receive funds through Impact100’s annual charity event, The Big Give. The grant, combined with approximately $350,000 already raised for the project, would cover much of the construction and equipment costs for the new kitchen, which, if all goes well, will be completed by the end of the year.
“When they announced us, it was like major fireworks went off,” said Holly Morse, a board member and adult tutoring program coordinator at the sanctuary. “We were so ecstatic to get this large sum of money.”
New Ramen Restaurant for W. Wells St.
After more than a decade in the Milwaukee area, Shuoyi Jiang still hadn’t found a local ramen restaurant that matched his taste, so he decided to open one.
Jiang is taking over the former Tangled Noodles and More space at 1404 W. Wells St. in the city’s Avenues West neighborhood, with plans to launch Tesshin Ramen, a full-service restaurant specializing in traditional and affordable versions of the Japanese noodle dish.
“I’m a ramen person,” said Jiang, who was happy to slurp his way through three to four bowls each day while traveling in Japan. “Hokkaido, Tokyo, Yokohama — they all have their own style of ramen.”
The same is true in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district, Jiang said. Even with six or seven shops crowded into a single block, “every one had a line.”
County Seeks Operator for Red Arrow Park Building
Milwaukee County Parks is looking for a new long-term operator of the concession building at Red Arrow Park.
For more than 20 years, the building has been operated as a coffee shop. Starbucks operated a location in the park for 20 years, leaving in 2023. The next year, a short-lived Biggby Coffee opened, closing in March of this year. Now the parks department is looking for a new operator, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be a coffee shop.
The department is looking for a business to lease and activate the 969-square-foot space year-round. It is “open to considering other businesses in this location that activate the space or are complementary to the park uses,” according to public bidding documents. If the business is open to the public, it must be accessible for children and must provide seating space for people renting ice skates.
The park is the location for the county’s popular downtown ice rink. During the summer, the concrete rink also doubles as a roller rink. Parks estimates there were more than 80,000 visitors to the park in 2025, including about 19,000 ice skaters.
Beloved Bartender ‘Ger’mama’ Is Retiring
Germaine Bowers makes her way down the bar, shaking a basket of cellophane-wrapped hard candies as she passes the occupant of each stool. It’s just before noon on what is shaping up to be a scorching July Friday, but the cool, dark cave of Coffeetails is worlds away from the sunbaked streets outside.
In the 18 years since it opened, the third-shift tavern has maintained three constants: spiked coffee, a colorful cast of regulars, and Bowers behind the bar. Over time, Bowers’ calm demeanor, friend-to-all attitude, and tendency to distribute snacks have earned her the nickname “Ger’mama.”
She fulfills the role with ease. “They’re all my baby girls,” Bowers said of her regular customers. “I’m pretty much the older person and the mama figure.”
Just as summer in Milwaukee nears its fever pitch, Bowers is preparing to leave her post. She’ll soon retire with family to a private lake in Michigan, a plan she announced last year to allow plenty of time for goodbyes.
New Grocery Store Proposed at Former Aldi
A shuttered grocery store at 5301 N. Hopkins St. could soon reopen under new ownership, restoring a key source of fresh food for residents in the Old North Milwaukee neighborhood.
Gurdev Singh, co-owner of Galst Food Market on North Avenue, has submitted license and occupancy permit applications for the address with plans to open Hopkins Grocery.
Given city approval, the full-service store would sell fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy and frozen foods as well as cigarettes, tobacco products and liquor, according to its plan of operation.
A proposed opening date is set for September.
Miss Katie’s Diner Is a Milwaukee Classic
Miss Katie’s Diner has served more than a few dignitaries during its 46 years on West Clybourn Street. Thanks to its location, just west of downtown, and close to the Marquette University campus, it’s popular with Marquette students, people who come from downtown, and anyone who appreciates authentic diner food in a restaurant that feels like it just dropped in from the 1950s. There was a Miss Katie, the grandmother of Miss Katie’s current owners and the wife of John Picciurro who founded Pitch’s Restaurant at 1801 North Humboldt Avenue in 1942. Both restaurants remain in the Picciurro family.
When you look around Miss Katie’s, you see a sea of teal-colored vinyl chairs, booths, and more windows than walls. The atmosphere harks back to classic Milwaukee diners and the menu is reminiscent of the 1950s.
On my first visit, one of my companions went back to Mom’s kitchen and ordered the meatloaf, a 35-year favorite at Miss Katie’s and a deluxe blue plate special. The meatloaf came with mashed potatoes and gravy and a cup of the daily special soup, beef and cabbage. It was a classic meatloaf made with ground chuck; the mashed potatoes did not come from a box; the gravy was rich and abundant; and the house-made soup had more meat and veggies than broth.
There were three more deluxe blue plate specials: roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, boneless breaded pork chop with applesauce, and stuffed chicken breast with cranberry sauce. All three specials included mashed potatoes with gravy and soup, salad, or coleslaw.
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