Silver City is a neighborhood that’s situated to the south of the Menomonee River Valley and directly east of Miller Park Way. In this small sect of the city—which is considered to be the most diverse neighborhood in Milwaukee—you’ll find excellent Mexican and Puerto Rican eateries commingling with tremendous Thai restaurants, lauded Laotian establishments, cozy cafes and charming corner bars, parks and one end of the Hank Aaron State Trail, an array of specialty shops, and more.
At its best, Silver City is a wonderful and unique part of what helps to make “the city of neighborhoods” such a special place to live and visit. Unfortunately, it’s currently not at its best—not even close, in fact.
Beginning this past April, Wisconsin Department of Transportation started a massive construction project that will dramatically transform a 2.6-mile stretch of National Ave. between 1st St. and 39th St. by transitioning the Milwaukee thoroughfare from four lanes to two lanes, installing a protective raised bike track and raised crosswalks, adding curb extensions, upping accessibility to finally meet ADA standards, and improving both street lighting and traffic signals/beckons as pedestrian safety measures. It sounds great, right? But it’s going to take time.
The entire project is expected to take three years to complete and it’s been broken up into three parts. The first segment of this ambitious construction endeavor will focus on the portion of National Ave. that’s situated between 27th St. and 39th St. For those of you keeping score at home, that 12-block stretch of construction cuts directly through the heart of Silver City and is currently inflicting untold economic damage on the neighborhood—and will continue to do so for months to come—until WisDOT finishes it and finally stops the bleeding.
Currently, the southern side of National Ave. is completely torn up (as it has been since early April) and will continue to be inaccessible until the expected end date of August 10, if not later. In the meantime, sidewalk replacement on both sides of the street will take place beginning July 13, with each block expected to take up to two weeks to complete. Eventually, the northern half of National Ave. will have its turn to be systematically demolished and rebuilt, likely persisting through the end of 2026. Between 27th and 39th, one of the city’s busiest streets has temporarily turned into a one-lane, one-way street.
In short, Silver City’s main corridor is extremely messed up and businesses—already facing untold difficulties during the ongoing economic downturn—are suffering greatly as a result. Sure, this extensive construction effort will undoubtedly improve the neighborhood once it’s completed, but the businesses currently weathering the storm still must survive long enough to see the project’s positive impact. So we implore you, Milwaukee, to get out there and support Silver City businesses.
Wanting to practice what we preach, we’ve been making a concerted effort in recent weeks to stop in to enjoy some of our favorites in the neighborhood and throw a little love their way in the process. For example, we stopped at Orenda Cafe (3514 W. National Ave., 414-212-8573) for brunch last week.
Sadly, there were only two other diners in the restaurant when we came in around noon.
Despite the empty dining room, the kitchen staff hadn’t lost its touch in the slightest. Our Pollo Picante Omelette was exceptional, as were the hash browns, the side of pancakes, and coffee-based cocktail we also enjoyed.
Construction or not, Vientiane Noodle Shop (3422 W. National Ave., 414-672-8440) remains a Silver City stalwart that’s deserving of all the praise it receives from local dining authorities and even Top Chef host Kristen Kish.
Approaching from adjacent Pierce St., we parked on nearby (and construction-less) Shea Ave. and walked about a block to the restaurant earlier this week. Miraculously, the dining room—cozy as it might be—was more than halfway full during our most recent visit.
With amazing offerings like the delectable Fried Vientiane Sausage and some of the best Pad Kee Mao we’ve ever ordered on its menu, we’ll gladly navigate through road work to get to Vientiane. Hell, we’d consider climbing a small mountain for some Vientiane if it came to that.
After dinner…or anytime before dinner, we won’t judge, head over to Mamie’s (3300 W. National Ave., 414-643-1673).
Enjoy—as we did a couple weeks back—some cheap drinks, hot dogs and other no-frills bar snacks, weekly live jazz performances, and fun times at an iconic Silver City bar that’s difficult to define but easy to love. Oh, and the bar’s annual Chicken Fry In July is happening this Saturday. Stop by!
Across the street from all the places we’ve mentioned so far, road conditions and motorists’ access to places like Thai Barbq (3417 W. National Ave., 414-647-0812), Bamboo In Silver City (3427 W. National Ave., 414-316-9023), and Chicken Palace (3433 W. National Ave., 414-763-5775) are even worse.
Whether you park behind the businesses, order online for carryout, or get food delivered, anything customers can do right now might make all the difference in the world. We promise we’ll see you soon, Bamboo! Retailers ranging from auto dealers and Asian markets to barber shops and mobile phone purveyors are also in desperate need of foot traffic right now.
And even Silver City businesses located away from the epicenter of the construction aren’t immune from it. We confirmed this yesterday when we dropped by the student-run Escuela Verde Newline Community Cafe (3618 W. Pierce St., 414-988-7960) and indulged in a tasty Oreo Frappe in the otherwise empty coffee shop.
The construction that’s currently ravaging Silver City’s main artery will ultimately make it a nicer, safer, and more accessible place for people to live, work, and spend time. However, we need to do our part right now to help make sure the local businesses that currently make the neighborhood so special are still there when the dust settles, the road reopens, and the construction crews move to another portion of National Ave. (between 1st and 11th St.) next year.
Get out there and support Silver City, Milwaukee!
