Chef Jonathan Manyo had worked with seafood in restaurants on the West Coast for many years before returning to Milwaukee and opening his successful Walker’s Point restaurant, Morel. His new venture, Raw Bar MKE, set to open in early April, rounds out the array of food vendors at Crossroads Collective Food Hall, 2238 N. Farwell Ave.
Jonathan Manyo—who co-owns Raw Bar with his brother, David, and Joe Elmergreen (manager of Morel)—says he’s looking forward to playing with seafood again and is eager to experience a setting like Crossroads Collective. “It’s going to be fun and interesting to be in a food hall,” he says. “It’s a concept that’s been doing very well on the West Coast and in other cities, and it’s kind of fun that a group of people can go in there and have eight restaurants to choose from that are all local. It’s not like going to a food court at a mall; everybody here is really passionate about their menus.”
Crossroads Collective operators had planned to do their own small raw bar upon opening, Manyo notes, but instead, they added coffee in that section of the bar due to customer requests for java drinks. Manyo began thinking about other concepts for Crossroads, but he really liked the idea of a raw bar.
The Raw Bar stall will feature four or five different types of raw oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp cocktails, king crab legs served cold with butter or cocktail sauce and seasonal crab claws. “Right now, stone crabs are in season. When stone crabs are caught, fishermen remove the claw, throw the crab back in the water, and the crab regenerates the claw,” he explains. In addition, seafood lovers can find crab cakes, lobster roll and a ceviche of the day. Many items will fluctuate on seasonal availability.
Manyo complimented Crossroads Collective’s wine program, which features white wines that pair well with seafood. He also wanted diners to have a fun experience while eating, so his partners and he are decorating the Raw Bar stall with playful themes based loosely on the films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Jaws(!). Their sign mimics the Jaws theme, and the back wall is painted blue and graced with fishing nets. They commissioned a local artist to paint actor Bill Murray (who played Steve Zissou in Life Aquatic) and incorporated Jonathan, David and Joe’s faces into the painting to resemble the main picture from the movie.
Although diving into a second restaurant endeavor has been daunting at times, Manyo says having two dedicated business partners, along with finding very good staff, has made the journey much easier.
For more information, visit facebook.com/raw-bar-mke.
