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: the latest return of Koppa’s!
• It’s been eight years since we kicked off our recurring “Mandatory Milwaukee” column with an entry about Koppa’s Fulbeli Deli, 1940 N. Farwell Ave. In that time, Koppa’s has fallen on hard times, been revived, fallen on hard times thanks to the pandemic, been revived again, fallen on even more hard times, and sold to new owners. Now, the East Side stalwart is in the process of making a glorious return. Again!
Yes, business partners Ram Mohan Rao Chekkala, Paramjit Singh, and Bhanu Partap are the new owners of Koppa’s, and they’re promising big things. “We wanted to make some really big changes with the deli department, because that’s the core of the store—the name itself is Fulbeli Deli, and it’s been known as that for the last 40 years,” Chekkala told Urban Milwaukee. “I don’t want to take any chances with it. I want someone professional to handle it and cook the best food for the neighborhood.”
Our own visit to Koppa’s last week was encouraging. The shelves were blessedly full and the place was noticeably cleaner. The management was friendly and the liquor department was well-stocked. Our sandwiches, meanwhile (a Saturn and an Atlantis), were really good! Sadly, the taxidermy was gone and the Atari game station was without a TV, but hopefully that’s temporary. Welcome back, Koppa’s! Again! (Subscribe to our Patreon for more on our visit.) [Urban Milwaukee]
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• The oft-empty first-floor restaurant space in Turner Hall is going to be…something! Pabst Theater Group, which operates the second-floor Turner Hall Ballroom, has filed applications to operate a tavern in the restaurant space. “The applications indicated that the new concept would not have food to start,” says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The liquor license application said it might add a restaurant in the space in the future.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• Remember that plan to turn the former Moto-Scoot space at 1652 N. Water St. into a full-fledged food truck park? It’s still in the works! [Urban Milwaukee]
• Remember that plan to turn the former Zak’s / Humboldt Gardens space at 2249 N. Humboldt Ave. into a full-fledged food truck park? It’s still in the works! [OnMilwaukee]
• Vendetta Coffee is open at 2268 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View. [OnMilwaukee]
• Fishbone Seafood & Restaurant will open at 2501 W. North Ave. by the end of summer. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• Martinez Sport Bar is set to open in the former space of Salas’ Bar, 2078 S. 8th St. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Baithak Of Punjab is set to open in the former space of Marsel’s Pizzeria, 4252 S. Howell Ave. [Urban Milwaukee]
• Mosaic – International Bistro + Social is set to open in the current space of Allure MKE, 789 N. Jefferson St. [Urban Milwaukee]
• R.I.P. The Original, 2498 N. Bartlett Ave. (Remember when it was Red Dot?) [OnMilwaukee]
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