The year in Milwaukee food & drink: openings, closings, beer

On January 1, 2017, Bay View’s venerable Midwest Diner closed. If there was a more fitting omen for the year to come, we’re not aware of it. For the next 12 months it seemed hardly a week would go by without another long-running bar/restaurant/East Side business biting the dust. The BBC? Hotch? Metal Grill? Ugh.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, the number of bar/restaurant openings far outnumbered the number of closings. Circle of life and all. Plus, a ton of new breweries popped up, as well. And ramen joints. While certainly not a definitive list, here are all the Milwaukee food and drink developments we covered in 2017.

OPENINGS

First Impression: Monster Pizza MKE (January 24)

First Impression: Third Coast Provisions (February 2)

First Impression: The Ruckus (February 9)

The new Fuel is nothing like the original Fuel, and that’s fine (March 2)

First Impression: Yokohama’s take on ramen takes East Side to new level (June 7)

First Impression: The Laughing Taco (June 16)

Check out The Love Shack’s food and drink menus (June 20)

The King Crab Shack is opening a Brady Street location (June 20)

First Impression: Fro Zone (June 23)

First Impression: Bowls Restaurant (July 11)

First Impression: DiModa Pizza & Hotspot (July 13)

First Impression: Sabrosa Cafe & Gallery (July 19)

Points View Boîte’s soft opening will be this week (August 7)

Hot Head Fried Chicken to open September 12 (August 11)

First Impression: Grate Modern Mac & Cheese (September 12)

First Impression: Sushi Go (September 21)

First Impression: Hungry Sumo Sushi Bar (October 5)

I experienced the magic of the “grown-up” East Side by eating at three ramen places in one night (October 19)

First Impression: Izzy Hops (October 26)

Well, it looks like the whole “save Von Trier” thing actually worked (October 31)

Snack Boys will bring small plates, island cocktails, fun to Walker’s Point next month (November 17)

First Impression: Wisconsin Pizza Authority (November 21)

First Impression: Birch + Butcher (November 29)

Here’s every conceivable thing you need to know about Milwaukee’s (and Wisconsin’s) first Shake Shack (December 5)

CLOSINGS

Midwest Diner has closed (January 2)

Rosati’s on Farwell and North appears to be closed (March 6)

Christie’s Pub & Grill appears to be closed (March 21)

G-Daddy’s BBC is closed (April 25)

Longtime East Side restaurant Hotch is closing (May 12)

The Metal Grill has closed (June 30)

Jow Nai Fouquet is closing (July 24)

Von Trier will close, re-open as an “upscale cocktail lounge” (August 15)

The Eastsider is closing, turning into a “wine/craft cocktail bar with a soccer twist” (November 20)

Brenner Brewing Company to close this weekend (November 20)

Rocket Baby Bakery’s Bay View Satellite has closed (November 29)

Monster Pizza MKE is closed, Oakland and Locust down to only four pizza places (November 30)

BEER

First Impression: The Explorium Brewpub (February 14)

First Impression: City Lights Brewing Company (February 28)

Take a look inside Pabst Milwaukee Brewery, a.k.a. the church of Pabst (March 13)

First Impression: Eagle Park Brewing Company (March 22)

Take a look at Miller Park’s new “Local Brews” bar (March 29)

First Impression: Broken Bat Brewing Company (May 2)

First Impression: Westallion Brewing Company (May 16)

1840 Brewing Company to open this weekend (August 10)

First Impression: Gathering Place Brewing Company (September 7)