Dan Devine, mayor of West Allis, at a ribbon cutting ceremony for Wild Roots.
For years, West Allis has been stereotyped as little more than a decaying manufacturing town with a bar on every corner and the site of the annual Wisconsin State Fair.
But city officials and business owners are working tirelessly to shed the negative image of Milwaukee’s largest suburb, which has a population of 60,000. Several years ago, West Allis hired marketing firm Savage Solutions to help give the city a facelift. The campaign, which has included print media, radio and web ads, was launched last fall. “It’s really trying to focus on the transformation we are seeing,” says West Allis Mayor Dan Devine, who was elected in 2008.
The history of West Allis dates back to 1906, four years after major machine manufacturing plant Allis-Chalmers was built. By the mid-1980s, business at Allis-Chalmers was in steep decline. In 1985, three of the company’s product lines, including its joint venture in electrical controls with the Siemens company, were dissolved. In 1999, the company closed its Wisconsin offices.
The closure of West Allis’s largest employer was a big economic blow to the city. However, in the last decade, the number of locally-owned eateries in West Allis has grown dramatically. These establishments have not only provided jobs for residents but have also put the city on the map as a major destination for foodies in the Metro Milwaukee area.
Busy Food Scene
“In the last few years, we are seeing an explosion of restaurants and coffee shops. Our food scene has been booming and we are really excited,” Devine said. “When I first got elected in 2008, there were maybe two or three local restaurants. Now, there are 20 or 30.”
These establishments include coffee shop Urban Joe Café, Peruvian restaurant Chef Paz and the rustic Wild Roots, which features cuisine made with wild edibles like mushrooms. Chef Maritza Paz opened Chef Paz in 2012. The restaurant serves traditional Peruvian dishes, among them sautéed lomo steak and papa a la Huancaína (potatoes with cheese, yellow pepper and spices). Devine, she said, has been very supportive of local restaurant owners, which has helped build up the city’s reputation for great cuisine. “This is the dream of all of us who live in West Allis—to be considered the foodie paradise,” says Paz.
|
|
Craft beer enthusiasts Kim and Erik Dorfner opened Westallion Brewery, West Allis’s first and only craft brewery, in April 2017. She said that, at first, people were skeptical about the success rate of a craft brewery in a city known for small corner bars and drinking mass-produced beers like Miller High Life. But Devine, also a craft beer aficionado, was completely on board with the idea. “He laughed and said, ‘this is the phone call I’ve been waiting for seven years,” says Kim Dorfner.
Besides seasonal beers, like the brewery’s tremendously popular autumn candy corn beer (which caught the attention of CNN and talk show host Stephen Colbert), Westallion offers several that pay homage to famous West Allis residents. Lillehammer Gold, a pilsner beer, is a tribute to Olympic gold-medal speed skater Dan Jansen; Generale is a Scottish ale named after World War I General Billy Mitchell. “West Allis is rich in history, and a lot of people don’t know that. There are so many cool historic people and events,” Kim Dorfner adds.
Events Year Round
Although the city is best known for the Wisconsin State Fair, West Allis hosts community activities year-round.
The city’s award-winning farmers market, held from May through November at 6501 W. National Ave., will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. In addition to selling locally-grown produce, honey, meat and eggs, the farmers’ market holds a Christkindlmarket, Food Truck Fridays in the summer and a National Night Out. For the past two years, Mark Lutz, owner of the West Allis Cheese and Sausage Shoppe, 6832 W. Becher St., has held “Curds and Kegs,” an event which highlights Wisconsin cheesemakers, local craft brewers and distillers.
West Allis also has affordable housing. An average home often costs up to $30,000 less than a home in some Milwaukee neighborhoods. Devine says the city’s convenient location is steadily drawing new business owners and residents each year. “West Allis has every sense of a small-town feel, but we are next to a major metropolitan area. Every direction you go, there’s something to do,” the mayor notes.
West Allis second district alderperson, Eric Euteneier, elected in spring 2018, moved from Milwaukee’s East Side to the city about five years ago. “I could see it being an up-and-coming community with beautiful housing, low taxes and low rent,” he says. Euteneier adds that young professionals renovating homes are deciding to live in them rather than flip them. This, he believes, is a factor that helps West Allis maintains a strong sense of community. “Neighborhood associations are really growing. Everyone is walking the neighborhoods together, and everybody really looks out for each other,” he says.
According to Devine and Euteneier, several business and residential developments will be added to the city within the next few years. The Mandel Group real estate development company will open The West, a luxury apartment community (6620 W. National Ave.), this summer. Milwaukee company Cobalt Partners announced plans to build an $87 million site along the 70th Street corridor the project will consist of a hotel, retail and office space and educational facility.
West Allis also plans to open a dog park near Nathan Hale High School. So far, volunteers have raised about $30,000 to complete the project. “There is a lot on the horizon,” says Devine.
Euteneier expects to see lots of development in the city within the next five years. However, he stresses that city officials will strive to keep the history of West Allis alive. “We don’t want to get rid of the old image too much. Our past really built our future,” he says. “West Allis will always remain West Allis.”
