Baker and pastry teacher Katie Romenesko
Katie Romenesko is originally from Appleton but today lives in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. Currently, Romenesko works for Sur La Table in Bayshore as the culinary lead / resident pastry instructor. Prior to this position, she worked three years for Joe Sorge’s Hospitality Democracy Restaurant Group. During this time, she opened Holey Moley, a craft doughnut shop at 316 N. Milwaukee St. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: How long have you worked in the food / baking industry? Katie Romensko: I’ve been baking as a hobby for about a decade, but have been doing it professionally for about five years, and I just started teaching a few months ago. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What time of year is your favorite in Milwaukee? Romensko: Summer! Amazing weather and so many adventures to be had. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your favorite or least favorite smell in Milwaukee? Romenesko: Favorite: yeasty Miller Valley. Yeast is my favorite bakery smell, so a whole area that smells like it? Heaven. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your hope for Milwaukee? Romenesko: That we continue to grow and change and progress. That we become a place people have to see for themselves. We have a lot of game-changers in this city, a lot of potential for greatness. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What made you fall in love with Milwaukee? Romenesko: Milwaukee is such a small-town big-city. Some days it feels like everybody knows everybody, and yet I have the pleasure of meeting amazing new people all the time. It’s never boring, it’s ever-changing, but still retains the comfort of feeling like home. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: Why do you do what you do? Romenesko: Because of people’s reaction to a good dessert. Yes, I like to eat the sweets. Yes, I like to physically create something and see the finished product. But the child-like excitement that a cupcake sparks in the average adult? That’s why I do it. And now teaching is a completely different sort of rewarding – when someone realizes that they themselves are capable of creating some things they were formerly intimidated by is something I love being a part of. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your one guilty pleasure? Romenesko: All the great sweets I can make myself, and that are available in the city, and I’m still a sucker for a cheap bag of gummi worms. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: Name a Milwaukeean you would like to high five. Romenesko: Kurt Fogle and Matt Haase. Can I just come hang out in your pastry dungeons and soak up your awesomeness?
Oct 25th, 2015 by Dave Reid
Taxpayers on hook for County Supervisor John Weishan’s legal tab
Milwaukee County Supervisor John Weishan beat back an effort to punish him for sending a county-paid mailer to voters in a state Assembly district where he later ran for office. Now Weishan has won a second time. On a 4-1 vote, the county’s Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee agreed on Thursday to use tax dollars to pay the legal bills Weishan ran up while fighting complaints over his mailer. As a result, the county will pay attorney Michael Maistelman $9,382 for his work on the case. The judiciary committee had final say because the sum came in under $10,000. Not everyone is happy that the county is being dinged twice — once for Weishan’s original mailer and now for his legal fees. “The taxpayers have $9,382 less going toward much-needed public services…because an elected official used poor judgment in how he spent their money to begin with, and then thought best to add insult to injury,” said Supervisor Deanna Alexanderin a statement. Alexander argued that Weishan could have paid the bill out of his campaign funds or sought advice from county lawyers in finding legal representation. Weishan, however, has defended his request to use taxpayers’ money to pay Maistelman. “I don’t have anything to be ashamed about,” Weishan said. In March 2014, Weishan sent a mailing addressed to “the residents of the 15th Assembly District” that criticized a bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Sanfelippo to remove oversight of the county’s Mental Health Complex from the County Board. Not long after, Weishan filed paperwork to run as a Democrat challenging Sanfelippo, a Republican from West Allis, for the 15th District Assembly seat. Sanfelippo won re-election in November. The mailing cost about $4,700, with some of that going for copies sent to residents of New Berlin in Waukesha County. That community is part of the Assembly district for which he ran but, of course, is outside Weishan’s Milwaukee County district. Citizens for Responsible Government and the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee filed complaints with the county Ethics Board, saying Weishan had erred by using public funds for a political purpose. Weishan said last week that county lawyers told him there were no rules barring him from sending a county-funded flier outside his own district. He added that the subject was a topic of widespread concern. “I was right in sending that letter,” Weishan said. He added, “This is about action I took as a county supervisor.” If anyone wasted tax dollars, Weishan said, it was the two groups that filed “frivolous accusations” against him. Orville Seymer, spokesman for Citizens for Responsible Government, dismissed Weishan’s criticism. Seymer said Weishan sent a mailing at taxpayer expense to people who were not even county residents, much less his constituents, just before deciding to run for office in their district. Seymer threatened to make this a campaign issue in the spring elections. “We will let the voters of his district decide in April of next year if that complaint was frivolous or not,” Seymer said. Chair […]
Oct 24th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Dan Keegan to leave Milwaukee Art Museum in May
After eight years of serving as the Milwaukee Art Museum’s director, securing a hard-fought management and funding deal for its facilities and overseeing a capital campaign for a new building, Daniel Keegan announced Friday that he will retire in May. While his predecessors Russell Bowman, who left in 2002, and David Gordon, who left in 2008, were known for high-profile accomplishments, such as building the Santiago Calatrava-designed expansion and retiring the debt from that ambitious project, respectively, Keegan did something neither of them could do: He got an agreement with Milwaukee County and the War Memorial Center on a deal for the long-term management and funding of the facilities in 2013. Keegan argued that the state of disrepair within the War Memorial buildings, parts of which were occupied by the museum and managed by the War Memorial, put the museum’s art collection, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, at risk. Once an agreement was reached, renovation and repairs moved forward and the museum was able to begin construction on a new lake-facing atrium. That new building will open in late November. The museum raised $24 million for renovations, the atrium and a top-to-bottom reorganization of the permanent collection galleries, and the museum’s endowment, critical for financial sustainability, grew from about $26 million to about $65 million under Keegan’s tenure. A Green Bay native who comes from a family of cheesemakers and dairy farmers, Keegan came to Milwaukee from the San Jose Museum of Art. A ceramist, he was the first director in many years who was also an artist. The museum’s board of trustees will establish a committee to oversee the search for a new director in the coming months.
Oct 23rd, 2015 by Dave Reid
Retail real estate market strong, industrial numbers slip in 3rd quarter
The opening of two Meijer stores and the Nordstrom at Mayfair helped boost the retail real estate market in the third quarter of this year, according to the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin and Xceligent. The organizations on Friday released their third-quarter data, which showed that the Milwaukee area’s office, industrial and retail markets are strong. The opening of two new Meijer stores helped boost the retail numbers. Absorption of vacant office space was up significantly compared with the past year, showing a net positive of 121,389 square feet occupied. The office vacancy rate is at 18.4 percent for the region. “We’re beginning to see space that has been vacant for a number of years, get leased, showing tightening in the market,” said John Mazza, vice president with CBRE Milwaukee. Empower Retirement tipped the scales between the north shore office market and downtown Milwaukee when it moved from Glendale to the Chase Bank office tower in Milwaukee. That move increased vacancies on the north shore but decreased them downtown. The vacancy rate in the retail market fell to about 8 percent, with Meijer and Nordstrom both adding large blocks of occupied space. The industrial market, which has been showing stellar numbers for more than a year, showed signs it is losing momentum. The vacancy rate increased to 4.9 percent after a steady decline. That increase is due to 1.2 million square feet of new construction coming online with 45 percent occupancy. Overall, the region’s industrial market absorbed more than 588,000 square feet of vacant space. Brian Parrish, president of Paradigm Real Estate, predicted the trends will be positive through the end of the year. “Leasing has slowed, however, as banks compete to lend money to industrial users for building acquisitions or expansions,” he noted.
Oct 23rd, 2015 by Dave Reid
With Eichenbaum’s passing Milwaukee loses an advertising trail blazer
Steve Eichenbaum was a popular guy. But popular in the way the Great Oz was popular. Like many of us who make a living in the advertising business, Steve spent his career “behind the curtain,” tugging on ropes and pulleys while offering sage advice to all who sought him out. To say his reputation preceded him would be an understatement. Most who never had the chance to meet him still knew about his biting wit, the booming voice and that fermented persona. (Being Mr. Angry for those years on WKLH helped solidify that facade.) I certainly remember feeling like the terrified scarecrow when I first shuffled into his office as a newbie out of Marquette more than 25 years ago. But guess what? There was no green smoke. No intimidating image. I had heard all the stories, but as it turned out Steve was Oz-like in other ways. For instance, he was a kind man. A gentle man. Bashful even. Over the years, as both a mentor and friend, he gave me the heart, brains and courage needed to take chances and become successful in my own right. So what was it about Steve Eichenbaum that made him larger than life – besides being nearly 6-foot-8? If you were lucky enough to spend time with him in a restaurant, on a plane, at a Bucks game or even in a New York jazz club (the Blue Note was one of his faves), there was no mistaking it… this wizard truly was “great and powerful” on so many different levels. If my flagrant use of past tenses hasn’t given it away, I am sad to say Steve passed away unexpectedly Tuesday evening. I’m still numb as I write this. Sitting here putting memories to paper and reminiscing about our friendship, I feel lucky to have known him. He was my first boss. A true mentor. A dear friend. And he will be missed beyond measure. In some regards, Steve Eichenbaum was one of the most well known unknowns in the city. Despite their best efforts, outsiders sometimes found it hard to connect with him. Steve was private and kept his circle tight. But several months ago, I was thrilled to learn he agreed to be part of a Q&A panel sponsored by the United Adworkers Club. For the first time, a sold-out room of hundreds got to hear the man (the myth?) step into the spotlight and share some of the most hilarious war stories and general observations about advertising and marketing we’ve ever heard. Yeah, he owned the night. As a boss, Steve had a reputation as someone who always expected greatness from his employees, because he always expected greatness of himself. I learned more during my time with Steve than most Madmen learn in a lifetime. This guy understood the power of creative leverage and often told his clients that playing it safe in their advertising was the biggest risk they could ever take. I recall one time a […]
Oct 22nd, 2015 by Dave Reid
Preservation commission narrowly approves Brady St. apartments
An apartment building proposed for Milwaukee’s Brady St. historic district has received another city approval. Ogden Multifamily Partners LLC, an affiliate of Ogden & Co., wants to build the three-story, 23-unit building at the northwest corner of E. Brady St. and N. Humboldt Ave. Known as the Keystone Apartments, the development would replace a one-story vacant commercial building, which last housed Zoom Room dog training center, and a vacant lot north of the building. The Historic Preservation Commission granted a certficate of approval for the project on a 3-2 vote at its Monday meeting. That approval came after Ogden made some changes to the building’s windows, landscaping and other features, including moving balconies back further from the street, according to the meeting’s minutes. The city’s historic preservation staff had recommended disapproval in part because the building’s design is “too regular, lacking in variety” and too rectangular, the minutes said. Ogden’s plans call for street-level commercial space, indoor parking spaces and upper-floor apartments. Most would be one-bedroom units, targeting people ranging from their early 20s to mid-30s. The average unit size would be 750 square feet, with rents approaching $2 a square foot — around $1,500 a month. The firm hopes to begin construction by next spring. The Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, at its Oct. 27 meeting, is to review the project’s proposed zoning change. The Plan Commission has recommended zoning approval.
Oct 21st, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Franklin hires economic development director
The city of Franklin hired Racine native Aaron Hertzberg as its economic development director, charging him with shepherding projects through city reviews and acting as a first point of contact for businesses. It’s another move by the community as it attracts more interest from developers, and city elected officials explore, and sometimes debate, more pro-active methods of attracting projects. Hertzberg will start Nov. 4. “It’s important to have a single point of contact for businesses that are looking to locate or expand or have issues solved,” said Franklin Mayor Steve Olson. “Aaron is going to be an advocate for business.” Hertzberg most recently served as director of the Pawtucket Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting economic development in the Rhode Island city of Pawtucket. The organization announced Hertzberg’s resignation Oct. 8 saying he was taking a municipal job in his native Wisconsin. Hertzberg grew up in Racine and previously worked for Sustainable Racine. Hertzberg is starting work as Franklin officials consider creating tax incremental financing districts to spur major developments in three areas of the community. Those could support a new business park by MLG near West Oakwood Road and South 27th Street, and mixed-use development at South 76th Street and West Rawson Avenue. Another development prospect that city officials will review next week includes a new baseball stadium and indoor sports facility at The Rock Sports Complex at 76th and Rawson, along with surrounding apartments, retail and office buildings.
Oct 21st, 2015 by Dave Reid
Summerfest marketing chief Boler leaves for Aurora Health Care
John Boler, chief marketing officer at Milwaukee World Festival Inc. and vice president of the Summerfest Foundation, submitted his resignation, effective Nov. 6. Boler is moving on to Aurora Health Care, where he will serve as vice president of brand engagement, starting on Nov. 16. Boler had worked on marketing the Summerfest festival for more than 10 years. Don Smiley, president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, made the announcement via email Wednesday afternoon. “I appreciate and respect the straight forward honesty, objectivity and integrity he brought to each situation and without doubt, always knew I could count on him to handle large issues and opportunities, as well as intricate details,” Smiley wrote. Smiley said he will begin searching for Boler’s replacement immediately. Summerfest attracts more than 750,000 attendees each year to Milwaukee’s lakefront to see bands from all over the world. Aurora Health Care’s chief communications officer Mike Brophy said the health care provider has set a strategy of ensuring “that our organization is a leading health care brand that our consumers prefer.” Boler will complement Aurora’s brand engagement team with his “diverse marketing experiences and his knowledge of our community,” Brophy said.
Oct 21st, 2015 by Dave Reid
Johnson Controls CEO bankrolled defense of Ponzi schemer
Alex Molinaroli, the chief executive officer of Johnson Controls Inc., offered to pay $20 million restitution on behalf of a notorious Ponzi schemer, Joseph Zada, whose victims included a former National Hockey League star, according to court records and prosecutors. Molinaroli also bankrolled the criminal defense of Zada, who was convictedlast month of 15 counts of fraud for running a $50 million Ponzi scheme over a 10-year span, documents and authorities said. Zada’s most notable victim was former Detroit Red Wings player Sergei Fedorov, though other victims included a former Olympic equestrian champion, a jeweler and several firefighters. Zada told investors he was using their cash for oil and currency trading when he actually “squandered it on a lavish jet-set lifestyle, which included mansions in Florida and Michigan,” prosecutors said in a statement after he was convicted. The disclosure of the link between Molinaroli, 56, and Zada, 57, came moments after Zada was convicted of 15 fraud counts following a six-week trial in federal court in Florida. During an argument over whether Zada — who lived in a Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., home owned by Molinaroli — should remain free on bond, prosecutors argued he should be jailed until his sentencing hearing Nov. 20. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Rabinowitz said Zada was a flight risk because he had access to substantial cash from Molinaroli and others. “Since 2006, (Molinaroli) has given this defendant millions of dollars,” Rabinowitz said, according a transcript of the hearing. Among other things, she noted that Zada had testified in a deposition that “Alexander Molinaroli was paying the entire legal bill for not just the criminal case but the civil — many civil cases that he fought.” In a motion filed after the hearing, Richard Lubin, Zada’s lawyer, referred to Molinaroli as Zada’s “friend and benefactor.” Fraser Engerman, spokesman for Glendale-based Johnson Controls, said the $43 billion company was “aware of the Zada case” and added that “we are confident that this matter has no relevance to the company.” Molinaroli, through Engerman, declined to be interviewed. Molinaroli was named CEO of Johnson Controls, the state’s largest public company, in 2013. He was paid $19.5 million by the company in salary, bonuses, stock and other compensation in Johnson Control’s last fiscal year, corporate records show. The pay package was cut by $1 million because Molinaroli failed to promptly disclose an affair he was having with a company consultant. Disclosure of Molinaroli’s link to Zada comes as Molinaroli is steering a corporate transformation under which Johnson Controls will rely less on the auto industry and refocus its growth around its two Wisconsin-based businesses: batteries, and heating and cooling equipment and controls for buildings. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of car and truck seats but will spin those businesses off next year. During Zada’s hearing, Rabinowitz provided details of financial help that Molinaroli had already provided to Zada and future help that he offered. “Mr. Molinaroli bought the (Michigan) […]
Oct 21st, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Former Johnson Financial CFO picked for Seaway Bank second-in-command
Despite the absence of a chief executive, Chicago’s Seaway Bank & Trust Co. reportedly hopes to name Judith Sutfin, most recently of Racine’s Johnson Bank, second-in-command. Crain’s Chicago reports Seaway submitted an application to state banking regulators to name Sutfin as chief financial officer and chief operating officer. The bank did not confirm the hire to Crain’s. As Crain’s notes, Sutfin is best known in Illinois for her role at Rockford, Ill.’s Amcore Financial. She most recently served as CFO at Racine’s Johnson Bank and Johnson Financial Group. She started in 2011, and apparently left this summer. Johnson named its insurance group president Mark Behrens as her successor in June, without specifying Suftin’s reason for departure. Seaway, considered the largest black-owned bank in the country, entered the Milwaukee market in 2011 after taking over the troubled Legacy Bank. It retains a single local branch at 2102 W. Fond du Lac Ave., near North Avenue. Seaway CEO Darrell Jackson left the bank last month after just over a year. A hunt for his successor is underway.
Oct 21st, 2015 by Dave Reid
Couple’s harsh, harrowing experiences on street prompt two books
Laura Marsh believes God wanted her to write a book about being homeless, though it was her boyfriend John Hines who first suggested it. She and John did not, as they say, meet cute. It was at St. Ben’s meal program downtown. “We were both homeless and we were both on drugs. I had just gotten out of jail. We would just spend our money on drugs and stuff like that, crack, marijuana, beer, whatever we could get. We panhandled a lot,” Laura told me. They lived as a couple on the streets for five or six years, together figuring out the rhythm of their days, the logistics of sleeping outside, and just plain surviving. They met so many characters, both colorful and menacing. They felt the scorn of people walking by and trying not to meet their eyes. Write a book, John urged her. People need to know how this feels. Laura began keeping a diary that has led to not just one book, “Living in the Shadows of Milwaukee” in 2010, but also a sequel, “On the Trail” in 2014, and plans for a third volume. The self-published books are in five Milwaukee libraries, Woodland Pattern Bookcenter on the east side, and Amazon. There’s also a website. Laura, who spent many days at the Central Library to escape the cold and work on her books, will speak there as an author on Oct. 31, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. She will appear in the Richard E. and Lucile King Rare Books Room, reading from her books and sharing personal stories from the streets. “I realized there was a reason I was out there,” Laura said. “There was a reason I was seeing what I was seeing. Somebody’s got to speak up for these people. Somebody’s got to do something.” She and John have tried to be part of the solution now that they have an apartment on Milwaukee’s near south side — a dry, warm, secure place with real beds and food in the cupboards. They have provided temporary shelter for more than 50 street people. They dream of using book sales and donations to open an actual shelter. It took a tragedy to shock the couple out of their self-destructive behaviors and shed the homeless life. In 2009, a robber shot John in the face. He spent a year in the hospital and in rehab, learning to walk and talk again. Laura met a couple who allowed her to live with them, while at the same time visiting John daily. Then they got their own place, paid for with disability checks. They even have an old car now. John has come a long way, though still has memory problems and struggles to find the right words. He was making banana pancakes when I stopped at the two-bedroom apartment to meet them recently. “The Price is Right” was playing on a television in the living room, an unthinkable luxury when they had no home. Laura, 41, told me […]
Oct 20th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
7 ultimate food porn tips from Chef Brian Frakes
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take mouthwatering images of food. But, it does help to have some skills in the basics of plating. Chef Brian Frakes, who teaches The Pfister #FoodArt Experience at the historic Milwaukee hotel, gave us a quick lesson in plating using two versions of a delicious autumnal tomato salad. https://youtu.be/PYUhox5xcpI Tips for plating food beautifully: Don’t be afraid to be adventurous when plating. Start with an unexpected canvas such as an interestingly shaped dish or platter. As Frakes notes: “Grab the wrong dish on purpose and see what happens.” White plates are a great default, as they allow the colors of your food to take center stage. However, using plates and linens in complementary hues can help your dish pop. Hint: brown foods benefit from a hit of color; in fact, they can look particularly good when put against a backdrop of blue or purple. Incorporate unexpected ingredients for artistic flair and varied textures. Try using seeds, grains or greens to enhance an already beautiful plate. Don’t cover the entire plate with food. Leaving some negative space helps to highlight the colors of the food on the plate. Play with creative sauces, including salad dressings or creations like Frakes’ reduced roasted beets with cola. Incorporate variable textures. Not only will the dish taste better, but your food will take on a different look when you add textures like toasted bread, differently shaped leaves and Maybe most importantly, play with color. Branch out and use yellow or chioggia beets, heirloom varieties of tomatoes and other unique fruits and vegetables. Look for edible flowers and brightly colored edible greens at the grocery store or supermarket. Experience #FoodArt at The Pfister The Pfister #FoodArt Experience combines food styling, gourmet dining and social media to create an unmatched experience that’s great for group outings, parties, team-building events or corporate retreats. The event, which offers guests the opportunity to create their own piece of edible art, begins at a table filled with colorful and texturally interesting ingredients – roasted beets, local cheeses, various types of protein, micro greens and grains. During the program, Chef Brian Frakes demonstrates plating techniques using the ingredients and provides food-styling tips. Then, guests are equipped with an oversized plate and sent down the line to prepare their own plates of food art. Once guests complete their plates, they move to a special table where a professional photographer takes photos of their dish. While the guests enjoy their culinary masterpieces, photos are emailed to them so they can post on social media. Call Marcus’s event specialists at (414) 390-4646 for additional details about The Pfister #FoodArt Experience, or to book. Minimum of 10 people required.
Oct 20th, 2015 by Dave Reid
