This Month in Milwaukee Restaurant News

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Vegan comfort food restaurant Twisted Plants opened a second location at 1233 E. Brady Street. The original location at 4905 S. Packard Avenue in Cudahy remains open. Both restaurants have a counter service model with both carryout and indoor seating.

More food options are available at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel. Giggly champagne bar’s new menu features roasted bone marrow, marinated goat cheese and truffled chicken liver mousse. The Bar at Saint Kate has small bites and snacks such as patatas bravas, birria ramen, hand cranked garlic or Italian sausages and the Calabrian hot chicken sandwich. ARIA’s menu now features Linz Heritage Reserve Cowgirl Ribeye, broccoli and cheese and sheep cheese cavatelli.

Sherman Phoenix (3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.) entrepreneurial hub may soon get a bar, Happy Days Day Bar. The name is a nod to the popular ‘70s sitcom that was set in Milwaukee, along with the fact that the bar is open during the day.

Good City Brewing opened a new taproom at the Mequon Public Market (6300 W. Mequon Road) in the space formerly occupied by Anodyne coffee. Guests can find a variety of fresh local beer and a food menu.

Milwaukee-based Scratch Ice Cream is set to open its first brick-and-mortar store in Brookfield. It will open in the former Yo Mama spot at 2205 N. Calhoun Road. Scratch Ice Cream is currently at Crossroads Collective and Zocalo Food Park in Milwaukee.

The Garden District Kitchen & Bar, located on Concourse D in Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, is expanding its menu to highlight Wisconsin products: Usinger’s corned beef and brats, Jalapeño Cheese Curds and a Milwaukee Fish Fry featuring a lightly breaded cod served with seasoned fries, apple fennel slaw, house tartar sauce and marble rye.

The culinary team behind Kompali and C-Viche have opened a Kompali stand at 3rd St. Market Hall. Their 3rd St. Market Hall menu will mostly draw from their location on the East Side, with authentic tacos, Mexican tortas, horchata, esquite (street corn), churros, quesadillas, pork beans, Argentinian steak and more.

Also new at 3rd St. Market Hall is Supernova Coffee & Doughnuts, featuring specialty coffee drinks with a custom blend from Anodyne Coffee Roasters. They’ve also got chai and matcha lattes, and scratch-made classic and innovative donuts. Supernova Coffee & Doughnuts is the latest endeavor of Sara Lewkowski and Aaron Ruiz, who own The Avenue coffee house in South Milwaukee.

Benson’s Restaurant Group announced the name and concept for its brand-new riverfront restaurant in the Harbor District’s R1VER campus. The Bridgewater Modern Grill is scheduled to open in fall 2022. The Bridgewater kitchen will feature a custom, oak-fed Jade grill, an expressive menu and a robust wine program. The outdoor patio area will be heated for three-season use. An indoor/outdoor bar will offer 10 boat slips for thirsty crews.

Michigan-based Biggby Coffee is planning to open a new location at 5861 S. Packard Avenue in Cudahy, in a former stand-alone Subway sandwich shop building. Biggby’s current Wisconsin locations include stores in Franklin, as well as Sheboygan, Rib Mountain, Wausau and Marshfield.

Heather and Robert “RC” Huhn, franchisees of Milwaukee’s first Cheba Hut on Oakland and Locust, will open a second Cheba Hut at 2202 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue, in the Bay View neighborhood. The cannabis-themed sandwich shop specializes in toasted subs (none of the menu items actually contain cannabis).

Dave’s Hot Chicken, with approximately 600 franchises across the U.S., will open a Milwaukee location at the East Pointe Marketplace, 544 E. Ogden Avenue. The Nashville-style chicken restaurant opened its first Wisconsin location in Menomonee Falls.

Closings

Maria’s Pizza (5025 W. Forest Home Ave.) served its last pie on June 26. Co-owner Bonnie Crivello’s mother, Maria Traxel, opened the restaurant’s original location at Seventh Street and Greenfield Avenue in 1957. Crivello cited pandemic-related challenges and desiring a break as reasons for the closure. Known for its rectangular pizza with super thin crust, along with quirky décor, Maria’s was one of Milwaukee’s oldest continually operating pizzerias. A report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel states that Maria’s has a potential new buyer, so the legendary restaurant may reopen again.

The Loaded Slate restaurant and lounge (1137 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) closed in June after 11 years in business.

Benno's Genuine Bar & Grill (7413 W. Greenfield Ave.), a mainstay in West Allis for more than 40 years, closed June 5. Owners Marty and Suzie Weigel plan to retire.