After more than five years in its current location at 2474 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Semolina will be closing its Bay View shop at the end of the year. Petra Orlowski, who owns and operates the store that specializes in handcrafted pasta and a variety of other Italian goods with her husband Andy, says they were recently given a notice to vacate on behalf of the property’s new owners.
The incoming owners also purchased the neighboring property (2476 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) and a home behind Semolina. According to Orlowski, all three buildings are to be razed to make room for new development.
“We had been under the impression they had been happy to keep us here. So that was a shock,” Orlowski says. “I knew the tenants upstairs had gotten notice, but I figured it was just [new] tenants moving in. I didn’t know they were planning to tear down all three properties.”
Earlier this month, the Semolina owners learned they would have to be out of the property they’ve called home since 2021 by late January 2027. She says the news came “as a real shock” and there was no prior communication.
“It was basically ‘Oh, shit. What are we going to do?’ And then I started crying,” Orlowski says.
At this point, they plan to operate out of their current space through New Years Eve. With its future uncertain, Semolina is pausing gift card sales and Orlowski encourages customers to use the gift cards they have soon. Pasta classes will also continue through December, and they plan to continue selling sandwiches and other items at South Shore Farmers Market the first four Saturdays in October. Everything outside of that is beyond their control.
“I’m very unhappy about it,” Orlowski says. “I feel like we’ve really turned this into our own place. We tried to make it an extension of our home, and that’s why grandma’s pictures are on the wall and all of the rolling pins and old family things are here. It’s sad and I’m upset. I’m angry.”
Though they’re justifiably mad, they’re also determined to keep Semolina going. While they’re hoping to remain in Bay View, where both Petra and Andy grew up, they’re open to relocating to storefronts in Walker’s Point or potentially even southeast Milwaukee suburbs like St. Francis and Cudahy. Ideally, the exodus from its original site—sudden and unwanted as it might be—will bring them to a larger space that will allow Semolina to expand its extruded pasta selection, offer in-store deli sandwiches and possibly even gelato.
“The plan is that we’ll continue in some way, shape, and form,” Orlowski says. “Hopefully in a better and better way, shape, and form so we can continue to provide fresh pasta, and sauce, and food, and all of the good stuff to customers who have become very loyal and have become friends.”
Until then, you have less than 100 days to stop by Semolina to stock up on goods and help a local business prepare for whatever comes next.
