Milwaukee Restaurant Roundup for March

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Punch Bowl Social (1122 Vel R. Phillips Ave.) has reopened in Milwaukee’s Deer District. The venue features food, beverage and entertainment options including a 360-degree bar, bowling lanes, three karaoke rooms, billiards and ping pong. The menu of scratch-made specialties features chicken and waffles, cauliflower nachos and bacon-wrapped shrimp and polenta.

Niche Book Bar, a Black-owned bookstore, coffeehouse and wine bar, is planned for 1937 N. King Dr., in Milwaukee's Bronzeville neighborhood. It will be operated by Cetonia Weston-Roy, a local author and founder of the Black Authors Collective. Niche Book Bar will welcome families with children during the day and feature a menu of tea, coffee and baked goods. At night, they’ll host book clubs and serve wine by the glass.

Chef Adam Pawlak of Egg & Flour Pasta Bar, and Hell’s Kitchen contestant on season 19, will partner with the Milwaukee Public Market for a new cooking class series. The classes, which will feature a combination of pasta making, fine dining and creations from Pawlak’s time on the reality cooking show, take place on March 24, March 29, April 19, April 27, May 17 and May 26. 

Odd Duck is in the process of moving to its new location at 939 S. 2nd St. in Walker’s Point. Meanwhile in their former space at 2352 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., plans are in the works for Tulum Latin Gastropub. The new restaurant promises a menu inspired by the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

Donteah and April Morehouse opened Atwood Hwy BBQ Company at 925 Madison Ave. in South Milwaukee. The couple serves Tennessee-style barbecue and has an expansive menu including brisket, pulled pork, wings, the “Big Chicken” sandwich, Friday fish fry, sides and desserts like peach cobbler and pound cake.

M&M Restaurant, in Sussex, reopened as Kitchen. The new owners serve a menu of home-cooked food “just like Mom used to make," with breakfast, lunch and dinner specials.

Lupi & Iris fine dining is getting closer to opening on the ground level of the 7Seventy7 apartment complex, 777 N. Van Buren St. Expected to open in May, Lupi & Iris is promoting “a fine dining experience by James Beard award-winning chef Adam Siegel” with a menu “inspired by the French and Italian Riviera.”

Brew’d Burger Shop food truck has joined the lineup of vendors at Zocalo Food Park, 636 S. Sixth St. The new truck specializes in beer-infused burgers, sandwiches and sides. Owner Ramses Alvarez partners with New Barons Brewing Cooperative to incorporate their beer into his sandwiches such as The Waukee, with New Barons’ beer-braised short ribs and beer cheese made with New Barons’ Pecan Porter.

Valentine Coffee Roasters opened Valentine Third Ward Café in the former Bella Café space, 189 N. Milwaukee St. In addition to Valentine coffee and coffee drinks, there’s a breakfast menu, and an assortment of vegetarian or meat soups, sandwiches and wraps. Customers can also choose from an eclectic beer and wine selection.

The Copper Turtle Brewery and Taverne is planned for 330 E. Menomonee St., in Bavette La Boucherie’s former space (Bavette is moving one block northwest to a larger space). Copper turtle will have an environmentally friendly ethos, with recyclable plates and cutlery and no plastic straws. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to sea turtle conservation.

Jake’s Deli (1634 W. North Ave.) is under new ownership, but new owner Wajeeh Alturkman says nothing on the menu will change at Milwaukee’s oldest Jewish deli. Customers can still find the deli’s signature hand-sliced corned beef and pastrami and other menu favorites like the Reuben and the Turkey Senator Sandwich.

As part of its Phase 2 buildout, 3rd St. Market Hall (275 W. Wisconsin Ave.) welcomed Valor Organic Market, which grows greens, herbs and other produce by aquaponic farming. Their station at the food hall displays an aquaponics farming operation where they grow and sell herbs, spices, fruits and other smaller-scale produce. In addition, they sell grab-and-go mixed greens and vegetables grown at their main facility in Waukesha. They also plan to feature items from other local farms, juicers and businesses. Valor Organic Market is the latest addition to the food hall in the former Grand Avenue Mall building.

This and That

To the surprise of many, Milwaukee Brewing Co. announced their 9th Street brewery and taproom (1127 N. Ninth St.), along with Milwaukee Ale House (233 N. Water St.), which is also owned by the brewery, is on the market. A press release issued by the company states that offers will be accepted this month in the hopes of securing, “a strategic buyer.”

The Bartolotta Restaurants are preparing a variety of epicurean events for spring, including special Easter Brunch menus, a Spring Lamb and Goat Dinner at Mr. B’s—A Bartolotta Steakhouse in Brookfield, and a special Food and Wine of Abruzzo Dinner at Ristorante Bartolotta dal 1993. For a complete listing of Easter brunch and dinner menus on April 17, along with other spring events, visit bartolottas.com.

Employees of Colectivo Coffee Roasters have officially been granted union representation following a final decision by The National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) on March 25. This past August, employees of Colectivo Coffee voted to unionize 106 to 99. In January, the owners and management of Colectivo Coffee had filed for an additional review of the union election. “Now, the final decision has been made by the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is officially and without question, the union representative of the workers of Colectivo Coffee,” states IBEW Local 494 Business Manager Dean A. Warsh in a press release. Most of Colectivo’s employees that work in the cafés, production, warehouse, roasting and bakery areas will be represented by IBEW.

The Bartolotta Restaurants will host job fairs April 15 and May 25, from 3 p.m. through 7 p.m. at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St. in Milwaukee. According to a press release, “hundreds of positions are available.”

Chefs in Lake Geneva, Wis. are doing a restaurant takeover for this year’s Spring Restaurant Week, April 23 through May 1. They will showcase each restaurant’s specialties at promotional pricing, allowing visitors and residents to enjoy the distinct flavors of the area’s culinary scene. More than 30 restaurants are expected to participate. For more information and a list of restaurants and chefs, go to visitlakegeneva.com/lake-geneva-restaurant-week.