The owners of the West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe at the Milwaukee Public Market in the Historic Third Ward plan to add an outdoor restaurant and dining counter there, along East St. Paul Avenue.
“We would like to become a sit-down restaurant in the summer,” said Mark Lutz, who owns the shop at the Public Market and on West Becher Street in West Allis. “We do really well with our breakfast business in West Allis and we would like to do the same thing (at the Public Market).”
The patio, which would be separated by partitions from the other vendors, would include about eight, four-top tables and a counter up against the shop, with seating for 10 to 12 people.
Last year, Lutz installed a door in the kitchen that opens to East St. Paul Avenue, with plans for the expansion.
Lutz recently applied for a liquor license with the city of Milwaukee to serve mimosas and Bloody Mary’s during breakfast.
“We don’t want to have a full-fledged bar, but you can’t have a great breakfast without a mimosa and a Bloody Mary,” Lutz said.
Once the final designs are complete, the plan will have to be approved by the Third Ward Architectural Review Board. The Public Market is owned and operated by the Third Ward Business Improvement District.
Lutz would like to open in May.
David Ware, facility manager of the Milwaukee Public Market, said the potential is there for the outdoor space to be beautiful.
“They have been there since the beginning and do very well,” Ware said. “They are well established and quite successful.”
Overall, the Milwaukee Public Market continues to find success and continues to break records for sales and customer visits.
Total vendor sales increased 10 percent in 2016 to $15.82 million, up from $14.35 million in 2015, according to operators. The sales figures are more than double total sales in 2010.
Customer visits were up 11 percent in 2016, with 1.54 million people visiting the Public Market last year, up from 1.39 million the previous year.
