In this installment of our semi-regular Food/Drink Roundup: Jalisco’s Cocina y Bar is still coming to the former Hacienda/BBC space on the East Side.
Remember back in January when we told you a new Mexican restaurant, Jalisco’s Cocina y Bar, was coming to the former Triple Taproom/Hacienda/BBC space on the East Side? How about when we told you again a few weeks later? And again in February? No? Well, here’s another reminder: a new Mexican restaurant, Jalisco’s Cocina y Bar, is coming to the former Triple Taproom/Hacienda/BBC space on the East Side.
Owner Ruben Herrera appeared before the city’s Licenses Committee on Tuesday to detail his plans for the business. Those plans boil down to this: the Herrera family opened the first Jalisco’s in 1987 at 1035 S. César E. Chávez Dr (it’s still open today); a second location opened in 1990 at 2124 N. Farwell Ave. (it was sold and transformed into Judy’s On North in 2019); the new Jalisco’s will be Ruben’s first restaurant but a continuation of a family tradition. (Judy’s On North closed in 2023 due to a fire, and eventually relocated to its current location at 2124 N. Farwell Ave. It’s now known as Judy’s Cantina.)
Jalisco’s even has a handy sign posted in the door of its soon-to-be new home at 2018 E. North Ave.:
A previous license application notes that Jalisco’s projects 60% of its sales to come from food, and 40% from alcohol. Proposed hours are 9 a.m. – 2 a.m. Mondays through Wednesdays; 7 a.m. – 2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; and 9 a.m. – 12 a.m. on Sundays. Sidewalk dining is proposed from May through October. The same license application listed the proposed opening date as March 1, 2026. But, you know, we’re past that already. So soon!
The storied North Avenue bar and restaurant space has been vacant for seven months. Hacienda Beer Co. opened there in 2019. It rebranded as Hacienda Taproom & Kitchen, then Triple Taproom, and closed in August 2025. Before that, the space was the longtime home of G-Daddy’s BBC. The BBC closed in April 2017. During the 1970s, the space was occupied by a Mexican restaurant, El Matador.
Want a further taste/sip of the new food/drink places being planned for Milwaukee? Then buckle up for Tales From The City’s License Application Page…
• A new sports bar called Scoreboard Sports Bar is planned for the former Conway’s Smokin’ Bar & Grill, 2127 W. Wells St. Proposed opening date: May 1, 2026. [PDF]
• A new cafe and co-working space called 41Fork Hospitality wants to reopen the recently closed Wantable Café at 123 E. Walker St. Proposed (re-)opening date: April 1, 2024. [PDF]
All of the above proposed businesses are just that—proposed—and are subject to city approval. Here’s a Weird Al song about food:
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• License applications filed for Jalisco’s Cocina y Bar in former Hacienda/BBC space on East Side
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