Looking for a roundup of Milwaukee food and drink news? Then take a bite of our cleverly titled, bi-weekly Food/Drink Roundup! This week: Judy’s Cantina!
• tl;dr: Mexican restaurant Judy’s Cantina is now open at 2124 N. Farwell Ave., on the city’s east side. It’s pretty good!
Some history: Way back in 2019, longtime East Side Mexican restaurant Jalisco, located at 2207 E. North Ave., closed. It was quickly replaced by Judy’s On North, a new Mexican restaurant owned and operated by former Jalisco employees. Things hummed along until late 2023, when Judy’s was badly damaged in a fire. The restaurant closed, but soon began operating a food truck parked outside its fire-damaged home. Soon after that, it began looking a new permanent location.
And now it’s found one, at 2124 N. Farwell Ave.! If that address sounds familiar, it’s because it was previously the address of Simple Cafe. Simple Cafe closed in 2021. After that, a Mexican restaurant called Sonora’s was supposed to set up shop in the building. It never did. (A Sonora’s sign is still outside the building.)
So yeah, Judy’s is open now in the location. And it’s called Judy’s Cantina now. Stop by! Like we said, it’s pretty good! [Urban Milwaukee]
• A few blocks away, New York-based açaí franchise Baya Bar plans to open its first Wisconsin location at 2220 N. Prospect Ave. [Urban Milwaukee]
• What do you do when ’70s and ’80s nostalgia has been wrung dry? If you’re the former owners of long-closed ’70s and ’80s nostalgia bar/club Have A Nice Day Cafe, you open a ’90s and ’00s nostalgia bar/club! And in the same location to boot! Yep, on Friday, September 13, brothers Jake and Seth Dehne will open 90s2K Cafe at 1103 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. The building was most recently Howl At The Moon, which closed earlier this year. [Milwaukee Business Journal]
• Want to celebrate the 50th anniversary of East Side bar RC’s? Sure, RC’s closed in 2018 and was demolished a few years later, but you can still raise a toast to it Saturday, September 28 at The Brewery, 1101 N. Water St. “There will be food specials, drink specials, a special food menu, old school beers on tap and more,” says OnMilwaukee. “There will also be RC’s merch for sale, including hats, T-shirts, matchbooks, koozies and more.” [OnMilwaukee]
RC’s, 2018
• Fancy alcoholic/non-alcoholic cocktail bar Agency is up and running at the Dubbel Dutch hotel, 817 N. Marshall St. “Our mission at Agency is to inspire a social movement around conscious drinking, giving our guests the choice to enjoy their drinks with or without alcohol while still experiencing the sophistication, comfort, and charm of a world-class cocktail bar,” says Agency’s Robert Colletta. [Urban Milwaukee]
• The owners of Menomonee Falls bakery Batter & Mac are looking to open a second location in the former Lakeside Bakery, 1100 E. Oklahoma Ave. “We’re excited to join the community and carry on the tradition of keeping a bakery open in that location,” co-owner Brittany Wohlfeil tells [OnMilwaukee].
• A new bar, Game On, is planned for 2730 S. 60th St. The location was the former home of Solutions, which closed in 2021. [Urban Milwaukee]
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