JoAnne and Nick Anton, owners of La Perla Restaurant in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood, are in the process of selling the restaurant and the three buildings it’s in.
Popular for its margaritas, Guadalajaran cuisine and mechanical chili pepper ride, La Perla will close after operations on Saturday. It has about 25 employees.
The Antons opened the restaurant in 1995 with 10 tables. It has since expanded into three buildings and two outdoor patios, with space to seat 600 people.
The sale, expected to close soon at an undisclosed price, includes the buildings and adjacent parking lots as well as the business—but not its name. The Antons will use the name to launch a new commercial food product line, which they plan to sell in specialty grocery stores.
The Antons won’t reveal who the new owners are, only that they will be remodeling the space while it’s closed, in conjunction with a street construction project.
“We timed it because there’s incredible construction happening in our neighborhood and so knowing that the good news of having multiple offers and, ultimately, us picking this right set of buyers coincided with what was a delayed construction schedule,” JoAnne said.
“We’re going to give the new owners the privilege of making the announcement in the way they would like to,” she said.
In the announcement of their closure on the La Perla Facebook page, Nick and JoAnne reflected on their many years in business.
“In that time, we have seen everything from our own family to the restaurant scene and definitely Walker’s Point grow and change,” Nick Anton said. “We couldn’t be more satisfied or proud to have been one of the firsts to plant a stake in the ground here.”
“We knew then what everyone else has since discovered – Walker’s Point is truly a special place,” JoAnne said. “We still remember the early days of just sitting alone in the front window night-after-night with a toddler in a high chair trying to draw customers in the door.”
With so many treasured memories, customers-turned-friends and the entire area thriving, it’s a really good time to turn the reins over to new owners.”
