Photo via Ruby's Bagels - Facebook
Ruby's Bagels
The Ruby's Bagels team outside their new location on North Avenue in Milwaukee
Popular Downtown restaurant AJ Bombers (1247 N. Water St.) will close toward the end of 2025. The restaurant is known for its burgers and custard, along with oversized white chairs near the front entrance of the building. Benson's Restaurant Group, which owns and operates AJ Bombers, will soon announce details about how the restaurant will celebrate its 16-year history.
The Couture (909 E. Michigan Ave.) named Chicago-based restaurant The Vig as its first tenant. The restaurant will be in a 10,800 square foot space on the building’s second floor and feature a mid-century sports parlor themed menu and décor.
Chefs Adam Siegel and Darla Aitken-Siegel, of Lupi & Iris fame, plan to open a New York-style Italian restaurant on the first floor of the Northwestern Mutual North building, 818 E. Mason St.
Photo via Uppa Yard - uppayard.com
Uppa Yard - Exterior
Uppa Yard' Fond du Lac Avenue location in Milwaukee.
Uppa Yard (4942 W. Fond du Lac Ave.) Jamaican restaurant is planning a new location at 1123 N. Water St., in the former Buffalo Wild Wings Space. The restaurant offers homestyle Jamaican cuisines such as jerk chicken, brown stew chicken, and goat curry.
One-Seven Café and Lounge will open in the former Mi Casa Su Café space, 1835 N. King Drive. The new sports bar will serve southern specialties such as fried okra and catfish, along with burgers, nachos, and chicken tenders.
Ruby’s Bagels opened its long-planned brick-and-mortar location at 5513 W. North Ave., in the Washington Heights neighborhood. Customers can find bagels by the dozen, along with bagel sandwiches egg and cheese or salmon lox and bacon. Ruby’s Bagels owner Danielle Varela started the business as a food truck in 2019 and operated at Zocalo Food Truck Park.
The mother and son team of Rachelle and Sam Alito will take over Charles E. Fromage, 5811 W. Vliet St. The Alitos will keep the bar and restaurant’s craft beer, wine, cocktails and cheese boards menu and plan to add morning hours with coffee, tea and pastries.
A new Mexican restaurant, Flor de Pina, is planned for the former Hot Dish Pantry space, 4125 S. Howell Ave. The all-day restaurant will offer traditional breakfast foods and classic Mexican fare for lunch and dinner.
The dog-friendly bar and restaurant Riley’s Bar + Burger opened at 100 E. Montana St., in the Bay View neighborhood. The restaurant features smash burgers, vegetarian black bean burgers, and sides from local partner restaurants—and, of course, a 2,400 square foot dog patio.
Midwest Sad opened a second location at 601 S. Sixth St. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner options such as deli sandwiches, salads, and bakery. Midwest Sad also has a location at 770 N. Jefferson St.
This and That
Photo via Café Benelux - Facebook
Café Benelux Aerial View
An aerial view of Café Benelux's rooftop with the roof retracted.
Café Benelux (346 N. Broadway) has reopened its rooftop patio with Milwaukee’s first retractable enclosure. The new enclosure allows for year-round rooftop dining and private event opportunities.
On July 2, The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar will conclude its exclusive dinner series featuring three young, visionary winemakers from Southern Italy. The event takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. and will feature Cobellis Winery, along with a three-course dinner. Reservations can be made at pastatreemilwaukee.com.
Chef Adam Pawlak of Egg & Flour Pasta Bar (2273 S. Howell Ave.) will compete on a new Food Network cooking show, “Cutthroat Kitchen: Knives Out.” The episode featuring Pawlak will air July 1 at 8 p.m. and will be available for streaming on Max the following day.
Pawlak has also appeared on “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Beat Bobby Flay,” and “Superchef Grudge Match.”
Outlaw Oyster (6517 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa) has a new menu that’s “rooted in Midwest sensibility but celebrates the weird and wonderful intersections of comfort food, seafood and creativity.” New items include a smoked fish trio platter, Driftless TLT with Rushing Waters smoked trout, the Octodog, and Caviar & Hash Browns.
Closures
Photo: 1840 Brewing Company
1840 Brewing Co. bar sign
1840 Brewing Company
1840 Brewing (342 E. Ward. St.) is closing June 29, after eight years in business. The craft brewery is known for unique specialty barrel-aged beers. 1840 Brewing is owned by the husband-and-wife team of Kyle and Stephanie Vetter. The closure announcement comes seven months after the brewery announced that Stephanie had stage four metastatic pancreatic cancer. The couple is closing the brewery to spend more time together with family.
