July 2025 Restaurant News

Authentic Polish cuisine makes a comeback in Milwaukee, pizza returns to Sherman Phoenix, and foodie events showcase local chefs and their stories.

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Eat/Drink

Soban Korean Eatery (5730 S. 108th St., Hales Corners), a fast-casual Korean restaurant that opened this past April, is planning a second location in Downtown Milwaukee. The restaurant features homestyle Korean food in a fast-casual setting where customers order at the counter and choose a base, a protein and two sides.

Carbon Steak (725 N. Milwaukee St.) has transitioned to a contemporary cocktail lounge called The Conroy. The new concept features sharable small plates and craft cocktails.

Merriment Social’s (240 E. Pittsburgh Ave.) new pop-up, Chip’s, opened July 5. Chip’s features homemade tortilla chips with guacamole or salsa, along with Booty Sauce, their scratch-made hot sauce.

Forage Kitchen, Madison’s original, locally owned grain bowl and salad shop, will open its fourth Milwaukee-area location at 350 Discovery Drive in Brookfield. The health-conscious restaurant specializes in make-your-own bowls, and Forage favorites like the Power Bowl, Thai Bowl or Cultured Cobb Salad.

Pizza returns to Sherman Phoenix (3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.) with the opening of Love At First Slice Pizza Factory. The restaurant specializes in thick-crusted pizzas with a variety of toppings to choose from, at affordable prices; most menu offerings are less than $10. Sherman Phoenix’s former pizza vendor, Sauce & Spice MKE, closed in 2021.

Lizz Tsosie Stachura of Tootsie’s Tea is planning a storefront at 2406 W. Clybourn St. Stachura has built a following selling loose-leaf tea blends, influenced by her Honduran-Indigenous heritage, at farmers markets and pop-ups.

Adam and Wioletta Bartoszek, owners of Wioletta’s Polish Market (3955 S. Howell Ave.), have a Polish restaurant in the works. They had planned to open the restaurant in South Milwaukee but will now open in a former Applebee’s in Oak Creek. The much-anticipated restaurant, tentatively scheduled to open this fall, will fill the void of Polish cuisine in Milwaukee after Polonez closed in 2022.

Vendetta Coffee Bar opened its third location at 2268 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., in the former Interval Coffee space. Vendetta serves coffee, beer, wine and cocktails, along with bakery, sandwiches and pizza. Vendetta also has locations in Wauwatosa and the Walker’s Point neighborhood.

Temple Goddess Café vegan restaurant, which launched at the former Crossroads Collective food hall, will open in the former Lafayette Place restaurant space at 1978 N. Farwell Ave. Temple Goddess Café serves Middle Eastern, Asian and Indian cuisine made with plant-based ingredients.

Lafayette Place, the sister restaurant of The National Café (839 W. National Ave.) closed this past September and never reopened after a car crashed into the building.

Nice Bite ice cream truck is planning to open a brick-and-mortal space in New Berlin.

This and That

Tickets are on sale for the 14th annual Fondy Farm Feast, Aug. 17 at the Fondy Farm, located in the Mequon Nature Preserve, 10150 N. Swan Road, Mequon. The event features chefs Imani Graham, Mary Kastman, Kyle Knall, Dana Spandet and Gregory Leon, who will combine their talents to offer a five-course, family style dinner. Proceeds support the Fondy Food Center, which provides Lindsay Heights neighborhood residents with access to fresh, healthy and culturally relevant food.

Visit Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Public Market will host the return of Milwaukee Flavor Live, a chef-driven culinary series taking place September 11, 25 and 30 and October 8. The immersive event features a diverse lineup of celebrated local chefs offering live demonstrations, interactive tastings and behind-the-scenes accounts of the stories behind Milwaukee’s most beloved restaurants.

Bavette, owned by five-time James Beard Award nominee Karen Bell, will transition to lunch-only service beginning Aug. 3. Hours will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the standard lunch menu available and a weekday happy hour from 2 to 4 p.m.

Popular brunch spot Mimosa is moving from its current location at 9405 S. 27th St., in Franklin, to a new location in Oak Creek. Mimosa fans won’t have to go far, though; the move is just down the street to the former D'Vine property, 7228 S. 27th St.

The Heirloom MKE food truck has hit the streets again, almost two years after being destroyed by a fire. Heirloom MKE also has a popular brick-and-mortar space at 2378 S. Howell Ave. Both the food truck and permanent restaurant serves farm-to-table comfort food.

Martha Stewart will headline the Kohler Food & Wine Festival, Oct. 16 through 19 at Destination Kohler, a luxury resort located one hour north of Milwaukee in Kohler, Wis.

Closures

L'Incontro (2315 N. Murray Ave.), in the former Tavolino space, closed July 7. The Italian restaurant served pizza, appetizers and pasta, and flipped to a Filipino pop-up each Monday and Thursday.