Remember those stickers and signs that proclaimed Bay View to be the “better” East Side? Fun times! Anyway, Bay View is getting a food hall now, just like the East Side.
We kid, we kid. Anyway, the so-called Flour and Feed food hall and market will be located on the ground floor of the soon-to-be-completed Kenetik Apartments, a.k.a. that giant apartment complex being built where Hamburger Mary’s used to be. Both that development and Flour and Feed are the work of New Land Enterprises, which is also responsible for the East Side food hall, Crossroads Collective.
“Given all the development around us, we have an opportunity to do something extraordinary,” says New Land Enterprises’ Tim Gokhman in a press release. “Bay View has a unique history, and an engaged and passionate community. It’s an active, diverse and family-friendly neighborhood, and we want to reflect and reinforce that. We seek to create a space that will cater to the surrounding community by combining food, arts, retail and a public space.”
About that: Flour and Feed won’t simply be a copy of Crossroads; no, in addition to a collection of mini-restaurants, the food hall/market hybrid will include retail space and “approximately 1,150 SF of flex space which can be used for cooking classes and demos, live music, and other community-based events, as well as ample outdoor space.” It’ll also be 1.5 times the size of Crossroads, so you can hang your hat on that, Bay View.
Flour and Feed vendors have yet to be announced. The name, by the way, has some historic significance. Urban Milwaukee notes: “A 1910 Sanborn Insurance map of the area shows a sizable store labeled ‘Flour & Feed’ at what was then 882 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Based on the map, the former footprint of that store will be the north end of the food hall.” Neat!
Here’s the full press release:
Kinetik Apartments in Bay View will feature Flour and Feed, a food hall and market
New Land Enterprises has announced plans to bring retail and food vendors the north end of the ever growing Kinnickinnic Avenue commercial corridor.
Serving as the gateway to Bay View, Kinetik’s curved glass façade is a visual welcome statement to the ever-growing Kinnickinnic Avenue commercial corridor. The building features 140 apartments, to be completed in May of 2020, as well as 16,500 SF of retail. That retail will now feature a dynamic mix of local food vendors and retailers. New Land has a signed LOI for the north 5,000 SF, although the identity of the tenant is not yet public.
A food hall & market hybrid
The remaining ~11,500 SF retail space is about 1.5 times larger than New Land’s 1st food hall – Crossroads Collective. “We feel like we hit the sweet spot with 8 vendors at Crossroads, so we wanted to keep the same scale. That gave us an opportunity to incorporate retail – something I saw done in other cities when researching different hall and market concepts,” said Tim Gokhman, New Land’s managing director.
Flour and Feed will also include approximately 1,150 SF of flex space which can be used for cooking classes and demos, live music, and other community-based events, as well as ample outdoor space. The west half of Archer Street is being converted to a pedestrian plaza, which will provide outdoor seating for the food hall, as well as additional community programming.
New Land also made an exciting discovery in the plaza design process. “Our mechanical contractor told us we can make the plaza heated, from underneath,” said Gokhman. “So we can do an all season patio, with radiant heat, that will face Zillman Park. There really isn’t another space like this in Milwaukee.”
Seeking a unique mix of vendors and retailers
Gokhman says a few tenants are already lined up and will be announced soon. “Bay View already has some great dining spots, so we are carefully evaluating where we can fill the gaps.”
Flour and Feed will grow upon New Land’s Crossroads Collective model by adding food-related and non food retailers under the same roof. “Milwaukee is gifted with talented artisans and entrepreneurs. Our marketplace offers a dynamic environment, foot traffic and economies of scale that can foster those people.”
A new hub of development
In addition to Kinetik, new projects like the Michels’ anchored R1ver, Wheel & Sprocket’s new headquarters and Komatsu’s new headquarters are bringing an infusion of office space, a hotel, and additional apartments to this vibrant neighborhood.
“Given all the development around us, we have an opportunity to do something extraordinary,” said Gokhman. “Bay View has a unique history, and an engaged and passionate community. It’s an active, diverse and family-friendly neighborhood, and we want to reflect and reinforce that. We seek to create a space that will cater to the surrounding community by combining food, arts, retail and a public space.”
