For years, West Allis existed as a regional punching bag that was primarily known for being the birthplace of Liberace, home to Wisconsin State Fair, and a misunderstood suburb that many loved to judge but few wanted to visit. In recent years, the maligned municipality has gone to great lengths to reshape its image and to become a legitimate drinking and dining destination on the 354 days the Fair isn’t taking place.
Today, ‘Stallis is home to an exciting new crop of excellent restaurants (including Milwaukee-based eateries that have expanded westward into the city of late), breweries, and bars that are significantly changing the perception people—sometimes accurately, other times unjustifiably—had of West Allis. And when it comes to cafes and bakeries, a relatively new business with an interesting backstory has already shown it has staying power in the city’s ever-evolving dining scene.
The Bread Pedalers (1436 S. 92nd St., 414-509-5198) started as a “bread club” endeavor by Samantha and Skylar Schneider during the pandemic. What began with the sisters (who are also professional cyclists, by the way) baking 10 loaves of bread per week to sell to family and friends quickly grew into more loaves, then the addition of other baked goods being ordered by even more people, and the eventual addition of a second oven. By the time the pandemic dust settled and the Schneider sisters could get back on their bicycles, they had a full-fledged bakery business on their hands.
Employees were gradually added into the mix and a brick and mortar cafe was opened in late 2022. We’re ashamed to say we had never visited The Bread Pedalers during its first two full years in operation, but we decided to finally pay the young West Allis bakery a long overdue visit this week.
Situated just off Greenfield Ave. on 92nd Street (pretty much directly in between Slurp-N-Burp Fun Bar and the new location of that pizza place that makes those huge mozzarella sticks), The Bread Pedalers is a quaint and nondescript little cafe you might drive right past without even noticing. Inside, you’ll find a small counter where orders are placed, a row of four tables, and six stools set beside another counter that’s by the window/entrance.
There’s also a little corner with a limited selection of retail goods.
Having recently seen the just-dropped July bread menu before our arrival around 11:45 a.m., we tried to order the street corn sourdough focaccia—one of the Wednesday offerings—but were told the daily breads had already sold out. No worries! Instead, we improvised and “settled” for an Herb Goat Cheese Biscuit ($4.50) to enjoy as we awaited our entree. There was no settling, though, as the fist-sized homemade biscuit was crisp and savory on the outside, and gave way to soft, fluffy innards that were liberally packed with fresh herbs and an earthy, decadent serving of goat cheese.
And if savory biscuits aren’t your bag, The Bread Pedalers is also known to serve up a limited assortment of other homemade bakery treats like scones, croissants, cupcakes, macrons, and cakes, cinnamon rolls (gluten free on Fridays and original on Sundays), as well as bagels sourced from Ruby’s.
As we were finishing the biscuit inside between sips of Sugarleaf cold brew, our main meal component arrived. Since it was nice out and the cafe was quickly filling up, we decided to take our sandwich outside to enjoy on The Bread Pedalers’ cozy rooftop patio, which can be accessed by walking along the south side of the building (the side with the colorful floral mural, for our directionally impaired readers out there) and walking up some steps behind the business.
The patio offers seating for up to 36 patrons, who can take a seat at picnic tables, on chairs surrounding small round tables, and on couches. Miraculously, we were the only customers taking advantage of this amenity during our visit.
Okay, back to the food! The Bread Pedalers has a limited menu, which changes seasonally, but it manages to cover a lot of ground. There’s avocado toast, yogurt parfaits, wraps, grilled cheese, bagel sandwiches, lumpia, and a few other sandwich specialties. We wanted something that highlighted the business’ sourdough bread, thus inspiring our “Spring In Sicily” ($9.50) order.
While the crunchy, flavorful, and altogether amazing bread recently baked just a few feet below us was the undisputed star of the show, the smear of rich whipped ricotta cheese, the abundance of thick sliced turkey breast and fresh spinach, the oil-y pesto, and the sweet-and-salty tomato jam also each made their presence known. When chased with sips of cold brew from Milwaukee’s newest roastery and enjoyed on our own private rooftop patio, both the sandwich and the experience at The Bread Pedalers in general exceeded the hype.
Maybe you didn’t notice, or perhaps your preconceived notions are getting of the way of you accepting it, but there’s something special happening in West Allis dining right now. The Bread Pedalers is absolutely part of the city’s ongoing Epicurean upswing. Whether you bike, drive, or walk over, make sure to get there to experience it for yourself.
