May 2025 Restaurant News

May was an active month as established restauranters branch out, national franchises build a presence in Milwaukee, and local beer gardens reopen to toast the long-awaited summer season with local food and brews.

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Eat/Drink

Nadi Plates, an Italian food truck, will open its first brick-and-mortar location this fall in the former Crossroads Collective food hall, 2238 N. Farwell Ave. The east side food hall closed May 8 after six years of providing a launch pad for food start-ups. Nadi Plates offers a seasonal menu of scratch-made pizzas, calzones, sides and sandwiches.

Cousins Maine Lobster will launch a Milwaukee-based food truck in June. As part of a national “food truck chain” that gained prominence via “Shark Tank,” Cousins Maine Lobster features New England-style lobster rolls, clam chowder and lobster meals. Cousins Maine Lobster–Milwaukee will be run by local entrepreneurs Chris Goeman and Kevin Smith.

Ope! brewery (6751 W. National Ave., West Allis), will open a second location in Appleton, Wis. Ope! is known not just for craft beers but also a spacious outdoor recreation area that includes food trucks and a dog-friendly space, and entertainment including live music and trivia nights. The same concepts are planned for the Appleton location.

A new grocery store would be part of a proposed multi-tenant retail space at 3033-3051 N. 35th St., in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood. The space would include outdoor seating. The new grocery store would bring more healthy food options to the Sherman Park neighborhood, joining options such as locally owned Sherman Park Grocery Store, 4315 W. Fond du Lac Ave. Sherman Park Grocery Store was opened in 2023 by Maurice “Moe” Wince and his wife, Yashica Spears, and offers fresh produce, a deli and shelf-stable items.

Vendetta Coffee Bar plans to open a third location at 2268 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., in the former Interval Coffee space. The new location will feature Italian-inspired coffee drinks, craft cocktails and panini sandwiches.

Sap Sap, a Racine-based Laotian barbecue business that gained acclaim through pop-up dinners, opened a permanent food truck at Zocalo Food Truck Park, 636 S. Sixth St. Sap Sap also had a brick-and-mortar location in Mount Pleasant from 2021 through 2023. The restaurant is known for smoked meats, fried chicken banh mi, eggrolls, and a mission of using food as a vehicle to stimulate cultural conversations.

Kenosha-based Sooshibay is bringing its conveyor-belt sushi concept to Milwaukee. The restaurant will open in the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Grohmann Tower Building, 1154 N. Water St. Sooshibay offers guests a choice of sit-down dining service or an option where guests seated in booths can choose from small containers of sushi that passes by on a conveyor belt.

Saffron owners Fatima and Hanish Kumar will open Aya, a Mediterranean restaurant, in the Ascent Milwaukee apartment complex, 700 E. Kilbourn Ave. Aya will offer upscale ambiance with a menu of charcoal-grilled small plates, Middle Eastern cuisines and craft cocktails.

Calogero’s, an Italian cocktail and small plates concept, will open in the former Bay Street Pub space, 338 E. Bay St. Calogero’s is the vision of nearby Santino’s Little Italy (352 E. Stewart St.) owners Greg Huber and Santo Galati.

7 Brew, a drive-thru coffee stand that offers 20,000 unique drink combinations, will open a new location at 1680 S Main St., West Bend. The franchise boasts more than 380 stands across the country.

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants opened its second location in the Milwaukee area at 8415 Sura Lane, Greenfield. Cooper’s Hawk, based in Downers Grove, Ill., is an award-winning winery, restaurant, artisan market, and Napa-style tasting room concept. The restaurants are home to more than 750,000 Wine Club Members who enjoy small-batch Wines of the Month, exclusive travel and dining experiences and other benefits.

Havenwoods Taproom and Beer Garden opened its second season on May 17 with special beer releases from Cantillon, Side Project, Amorphic Brewing, in Riverwest, and Working Draft, in Madison. The beer garden features live music, food trucks and the “Beer Trail” a quarter-mile hiking trail through a wooded five-acre parcel adjacent to Havenwoods State Forest, 6141 N. Hopkins St.

The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin launches a series of “Breakfast of the Farm” events throughout the state during June Dairy Month. For more than 50 years, farmers have been hosting breakfasts featuring the pancakes, sausages, yogurt and cheesy egg breakfasts that they serve their own families. Participating farms include Double Dutch Dairy (W3653 Hoitink Road, Cedar Grove); Racine County Breakfast on the Farm, at Frost Farms in Waterford; Washington County Breakfast on the Farm, held at Maple Woods Dairy Farm LLC in West Bend; and Kenosha County Dairy Breakfast, in Union Grove. For more information, visit wisconsindairy.org/national-dairy-month/Dairy-Breakfasts.

This and That

Lakefront Brewery’s off-site catering division, Curds À La Carte, has turned a retired hot dog cart into a mobile food fleet to offer access to their famous award-winning fried cheese curds for private events. Curds à la Carte is available from Memorial Day through Labor Day and will provide single-serve appetizers. Curds à la Carte can accommodate up to 250 guests for all occasions. Gluten-free menu items are also available.

The Wisconsin Baker’s Association (WBA) has named National Bakery & Deli (multiple locations) the 2025 Bakery of the Year. The award was presented April 27 during the WBA’s annual Member Awards and Appreciation Night held at the Embassy Suites, in Brookfield. National Bakery & Deli was selected from a group of five nominated Wisconsin bakeries, with past award recipients casting votes to determine the winner.

National Bakery & Deli was founded in 1925 and has locations in Milwaukee, Brookfield and Greendale. The bakery is known for paczki, festive cookies, hot ham and rolls, and custom cakes.

For the second year in a row, the Milwaukee Public Market has been voted the #1 Best Public Market in the United States by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. This back-to-back recognition comes as the Public Market celebrates its 20th anniversary and will co-host the 12th International Public Markets Conference this June.

Owned and operated by Business Improvement District #2, the Public Market “is guided by a mission to support entrepreneurs, serve as a catalyst for economic growth, foster social connection and deliver dynamic public programming that enhances the area's quality of life. Since opening in 2005, the Market has grown into a vibrant hub that attracts nearly 2 million annual visitors, hosts year-round cooking classes and events, and is home to 18 local vendors offering high-quality goods, ranging from prepared foods to grocery and specialty retail items.”

Roundhouse Beer Garden (1750 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive) at McKinley Marina, created by The Bartolotta Restaurants, held its fourth season grand opening celebration on May 22. The beer garden features brats, hot dogs, cheddar wursts and Milwaukee Pretzel Company’s Bavarian Beast one-pound pretzels—and, of course, local beer, along with boozy slushies and non-alcoholic options.

On May 3, massive flooding destroyed the dining room at EsterEv, the fine dining restaurant owned by James Beard Award nominated chefs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite. The brick-and-mortar location is anticipated to be closed through June, but the Dans will take EsterEv on the road with series of pop-ups in Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago to support its staff.

Closures

Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern (234 E. Vine St.) is closing its Nite Wolf ramen pop-up concept. The last day of Nite Wolf service will be May 31. Nite Wolf weekend pop-ups was launched in 2023 by chef and restaurant industry veteran Elijah Loebbaka to share unique ramen creations. Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern will operate as usual.