Two East Side restaurant locations will see new life in the upcoming months—all thanks to one new operator.
Smokin’ Jack’s BBQ is set to open a new location in the current home of Izzy Hops Swig & Nosh, 2311 N. Murray Ave. Izzy Hops’ last day of service is scheduled to be Friday, October 24. Smokin’ Jack’s plans to open in the space later this year, around December 1.
Smokin’ Jack’s began as a ghost kitchen in 2020, but has since opened locations in 3rd St. Market Hall, American Family Field, and the Baird Center. It also has a food truck and pick-up location in Brown Deer. The upcoming East Side location will be Smokin’ Jack’s first full-service restaurant.
But that’s not all! Smokin’ Jack’s owner Jack Holt also plans to open a new Mexican fusion concept next door to Izzy Hops, in the former L’Incontro space, 2315 N. Murray Ave. Izzy Hops and L’Incontro are in the same building and share a single kitchen. L’Incontro closed in January 2025.
Both Izzy Hops and the building are owned by longtime East Side entrepreneur Michael Vitucci.
“I’m at the time in my life where I’m slowly divesting from establishments,” Vitucci tells Milwaukee Record. “I thought it would be perfect if the operator in the L’Incontro space also owned Izzy Hops, because I didn’t want to open up a new restaurant. We ran a post through our business group about what people would like to see on the East Side. One was barbecue, and the other was a unique Mexican restaurant.”
Vitucci says Smokin’ Jack’s was the perfect choice to fill both spaces.
“I reached out to Jack Holt because he has damn good barbecue, because he always wanted to expand into brick-and-mortar, and because he did a nice proposal for me on what that would look like. I loved it. Owning both is better, because having a shared kitchen with two separate operators, you don’t have as much control and flexibility. Food costs, labor, all that can be controlled better if one operator has both under their umbrella.”
Jack Holt says that the Smokin’ Jack’s moving into Izzy Hops will be a more robust version of the beloved barbecue restaurant, complete with new vegetable-based menu items.
“We’ll have a lot more offerings, and we can enhance things a lot more,” Holt tells us. “At 3rd St., we’re limited to brisket, pork, and chicken because of the space. But here we’ll have a lot of other stuff. One of the things we’re excited about is our vegan and vegetarian offerings with smoked jackfruit and smoked portobello mushrooms.
“The remodel is very mild,” Holt adds. “[The Izzy Hops space] already has a good barbecue feel. It’s just a matter of a quick facelift, getting the equipment in, and permits.”
As for the new, currently unnamed concept coming to the former L’Incontro space, Holt tells us it will feature an expansion of Smokin’ Jack’s Mexican fusion menu found at the Baird Center. He says he’s aiming for a spring 2026 opening.
“At the Baird Center we have what’s called Smokin’ Jack’s Taqueria,” Holt says. “Out of respect for our partnership with 3rd St. Market Hall, we wanted to seize the opportunity to be in the Baird Center but not duplicate the same menu. So we came up with smoked queso birria tacos with smoked meat. That started the Latin fusion thing. With the new space, we want to take that further. And so it will be a Mexican-themed restaurant with smoked meats.”
The planned turnover and opening are just the latest changes coming to the ever-evolving East Side. (Triple Taproom & Kitchen closed in August. Italian restaurant Nadi Plates is scheduled to open soon in the former Crossroads Collective.) Vitucci, for his part, remains as optimistic as ever on the current state and future of the neighborhood.
“I’m one of the longest standing BID board members, I’ve watched this area evolve over the years since 1998, and I’ve never left it,” he says. “If I had to choose to be anywhere, it’s the East Side. I love the East Side. I love Brady Street. I love Murray Hill. I love the Upper East Side. It’s really a nice vibe.
“I see nothing but positive things going in a positive direction,” he adds. “The East Side may move a little slower than a lot of neighborhoods, but we craft our neighborhood to fit as we blossom. We want to make sure that we’re supportive of property owners, and that we’re supportive of business owners that are here. We like that slow growth, and that’s where we’re going here.”
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