July Restaurant News

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Sweetgreen, a fast-casual chain serving fresh salads, warm bowls and sides, opened July 18 at 300 E. Buffalo St., in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

Joy Ice Cream Social, serving an assortment of ice cream flavors such as Old Fashioned Vanilla, Blackberry Lemon Bar and Malt Amore, along with coffee and snacks, opened at 8334 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa.

Trattoria di Carlo, 8469 S. Howell Ave., has reopened. The popular Oak Creek pizzeria, which closed abruptly in June 2021, is under the new ownership of Frank Carini. who is using the original Trattoria di Carlo recipes.

Valentine Coffee Roasters opened a new location at 5835 W. National Ave., West Allis. In addition to a full menu of coffee and coffee drinks, the café features breakfast favorites such as quiche, breakfast burritos, egg sandwiches and bakery. Soups, sandwiches and salads round out the lunch options. Valentine will soon add beer, wine and cocktails to coincide with extended Friday and Saturday hours.

Mochinut, 5735 N. Bayshore Drive, offers a treat that’s a combination of American doughnuts and Japanese mochi—chewy rice cakes made with glutinous rice flour and filled with a sticky filling of sweet red bean paste or ice cream.

The Edison (22 N. Broadway) held its grand opening on July 5. The neighborhood grill is open seven days a week for brunch, lunch and dinner, with entrées like the shaved prime rib sandwich, porterhouse steak, mushroom casserole or fish and chips. The speakeasy-inspired bar serves up nostalgic cocktails with a modern twist.

Out in Lake Country, The Tipsy Turtle Patio and Grill opened at S90W13970 Boxhorn Dr., Muskego, in the former AJs Pub and Grill space. The menu features burgers, weekend  barbecue, wraps, sandwiches, salads, homemade pizzas and wings.

Up-and-Coming

Kitchen Kings will open this fall at 1000 E. Locust St., in the Riverwest neighborhood. The carryout restaurant will offer burgers, chicken and seafood.

Popular vegan restaurant Twisted Plants will open a third location at 6202 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis, in the former Fratelli's location. The 100% plant-based menu consists of burgers, sandwiches, salads, appetizers and desserts. Twisted Plants currently has locations in Cudahy and on Milwaukee’s East Side, along with two food trucks.

Hong Kong Seafood Buffet plans to open this fall at 270 W. Holt Ave., in a former Applebee’s location. The seafood buffet is the first Milwaukee area venture for Madison chef and restaurateur Ting Cai Zou.

Who’s On Layton, a sports bar and grill, will open at 512 W. Layton Ave. The new venue is owned by Bobby Wiltgen, who owns Who’s On Third, 1007 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. The building was formerly the long-time home of Beer Belly’s.

A bar-restaurant combo Café Terraza and Baccara are scheduled to open at 2856 N. Oakland Ave. Located in the former Black Rose and Monster Pizza spot, Café Terraza restaurant will feature Italian cuisine, while the bar will offer cocktails, beer and wine.

Lake Effect Coffee Co., a bicycle pop-up serving nitro coffee and chai, plans to open a café at 6217 W. Greenfield Ave., in West Allis.

New vegan/vegetarian restaurant Grey Jett Café will open in August at 1617 W. Wells St., near the Marquette University campus. Grey Jett previously operated pop-ups throughout the city and on the Marquette campus.

Cheese fanatics will be elated with the foot-long mozzarella sticks, mac and cheese entrées and other gooey delights at Rod & Makk, which will open at the 3rd St. Market Hall later this summer. The venture is a partnership between the owners of Alphonso’s The Original Pizzeria and Makk’n’Cheese,

This and That

Season 21 of the Emmy Award-winning cooking competition Top Chef will take place in Milwaukee and Madison. The show will be filmed later this year and is set to air in early 2024.

Dream Lab coffee shop, hookah lounge and art gallery has moved to 738 S. Third St., in Walker’s Point.

The Bartolotta Restaurants is actively hiring leadership roles for its new fine dining and events establishment, The Commodore – A Bartolotta Restaurant, on Nagawicka Lake, in Delafield, Wis. Those interested can find more information at bartolottas.com/careers.

With the Wisconsin State Fair just around the corner, several Milwaukee area restaurants will debut their creative Sporkies offerings. Those that made it into the Sporkies finals include Slim McGinn’s Irish Pub’s Irish Dipper, an Irish beef and Guinness gravy sandwich with caramelized onions and Irish cheddar; Deep Fried Apple Pie, available at Saz’s BBQ; and Coastal Corn Nuggets—deep fried dough balls with sweet corn kernels, smothered in melted white queso and topped with tropical slaws—available at Tropics.

Closures

The Soup Market has temporarily closed their Oak Creek location. The Soup Market’s other locations in the Bay View and Washington Heights neighborhoods, and in Hales Corners, are still open.

Red Light Ramen, 1749 N. Farwell Ave., closed July 13 after nearly a decade in business. Owner/chef Justin Carlisle started Red Light Ramen as a late night, pop-up basement party below Ardent, his restaurant at 1751 N. Farwell, which is still open.

Anne Marie Arroyo and Tamela Greene closed Trouble and Sons Pizzeria, 133 E. Silver Spring Drive, Whitefish Bay. Arroyo and Green cited via Facebook that ongoing pandemic-related challenges influenced their decision. Their other restaurant, Moxie Food + Drink, 501 E. Silver Spring Drive, is still open.