Photo via Facebook / West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe
Mark Lutz, who owns the popular West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe with his wife, Linda, continues to build the vicinity of 69th and Becher streets into a walkable destination of specialty shops. In recent years, Station No. 06 beer garden opened on the patio of the cheese shop. In March, Lutz opened Becher Meats butcher shop, across the street from the cheese store.
His latest venture, The Bake Sale (6923 W. Becher St.), will be a retail bakery featuring an array of products from different bakers in the Milwaukee area. Lutz plans to have The Bake Sale open by Easter. He says the concept parallels bake sale fundraisers held by churches and schools in that it will feature a collection of different bakers. Lutz plans to donate 5% of the retail sales to charities, including food pantries in West Allis. He wants to invite vendors to do pop up events, and he will let those vendors also choose charities to which to donate.
“People in the neighborhood often suggested, ‘Mark, all you need is a bakery, and we wouldn’t have to go anyplace else,’” he says. “Now they can get meat at the butcher shop, and then they can walk over to the cheese shop and have a sandwich and a drink. If they want bakery, they can walk down the block and get that, too.”
Lutz noted that many bakeries in the area each has its own niche; one might offer decorative cakes but no bread or focus primarily on specialty tortes and cheesecake. His goal is to have The Bake Sale be a one-stop shop to showcase the best of Milwaukee’s bakeries.
He plans to work with Krieg’s Lakeside Bakery (dba Canfora Bakery) to offer their hard rolls. He will also feature Breadsmith breads, which he’s used for years in West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe’s café and catering division. The Bake Sale will feature Cranky Al’s doughnuts, as well as baked goods from Simma’s Bakery. He’s working on getting pies from a local pie maker, and he’s pursuing gluten-free bakery. “We’ll have a whole slew of the best that Milwaukee offers, all under one roof,” Lutz says.
The Bake Sale will be located in a building formerly used as office space by Trinity Home Health Care. The retail space is approximately 900 square feet. Nothing will be baked on-site, but The Bake Sale will also feature cookies made at West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe.
The Bake Sale will also have a dessert bar. “Instead of going out for that heavy meal and having no room for dessert, people can come in on a Friday or Saturday night for dessert and coffee or a glass of wine,” Lutz says. The space will have a few bistro tables indoors, and later outdoors during warmer weather.
Meanwhile at West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe, Lutz says the Station No. 6 beer garden has provided additional space for diners to social distance during COVID-19. He added temporary outdoor walls, along with lighting and heating. Their monthly dinner series is back—the Valentine’s Day dinner was already sold out as of late January—and he’s building a grill pit to prepare Saturday night grilled meat specials during summer months.
