See photos of new food concepts, riverfront bar at Associated Bank River Center

The Associated Bank River Center in downtown Milwaukee is marking the completion of a years-long renovation project with the opening of its new riverfront cocktail lounge, Vault.

Located on the second floor of the 28-story office tower at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave., Vault features a three-season terrace overlooking the Milwaukee River, a raw bar and a menu focused on prohibition-style cocktails. The concept will open its doors to the public on Wednesday, Aug. 30, adding to the collection of food and beverage offerings now available to River Center tenants and others downtown.

Vault joins existing quick-service concepts KnockBox Coffee & Market, Toro Tacos & Bowls and On Rye, which all opened earlier this summer as part of the River Center Market on the building’s first floor. The four establishments are operated by Milwaukee-based 41Fork Hospitality Management (formerly F Street Hospitality), which was brought on by Green Bay-based Associated Bank to design the concepts and menus for River Center’s food and beverage program. The partnership was announced last September, but the project has been two years in the making, said Kaelyn Cervero, owner of 41Fork.

The goal with the three quick-service food concepts was to provide office workers a mix of healthy grab-and-go breakfast and lunch options as well as comfort food to satisfy afternoon snack cravings.

Toro Tacos & Bowls made its debut at Summerfest two years ago and had operated a pop-up taco stand in the River Center’s atrium before its first brick-and-mortar location opened. The Asian-Latin inspired taqueria serves tacos and bowls with fresh ingredients, including an elote ramen bowl; cauliflower tacos with avocado, grilled corn, gochujang, pickled onions and pepitas; and Korean pork tacos with hoisin, cilantro lime crema, sesame and kimchi slaw. On Rye serves fresh-made salads, soups and sandwiches, specializing in carved-to-order pastrami and corn beef, on fresh baked breads with spreads and sauces. KnockBox Coffee & Market sells a selection of locally sourced beverages, including Stone Creek Coffee and Rishi Tea, with breakfast food coming soon.

Vault, which transformed an underutilized seating area into a swanky venue with lounge seating and a circular central bar, will operate Wednesday through Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m., with happy hour running Wednesday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The bar will be closed to the public Mondays and Tuesdays for private event bookings, which Cervero expects to be a popular offering.

“We’ve had a lot of people already asking us to use this for private events,” she said, noting there are three or four events booked at the space so far.

In addition to the weekday post-work crowd, Vault could draw patrons attending shows at the adjacent Milwaukee Repertory Theater, which will break ground in late May 2024 on a $75 million overhaul of its theater complex, to be named the Associated Bank Theater Center.

Since buying the 28-story office building for $60.5 million in 2016, Associated Bank has made several improvements, including a complete remodel of the first floor and replacement of elevators and escalators. Last year, it opened the Associated Bank Center for Professional Development on the building’s third floor.

Amenities throughout the building, now including the new food and beverage offerings, are meant to draw workers back downtown and into the office. Since the opening of the River Center Marketplace, tenancy in the building has increased, said Lisa Tatrol, general manager of property management firm Colliers.

“We’re starting to see a lot of traffic as well,” Cervero said. “We’re getting traffic from tenants, we’re getting traffic from nearby people who are getting excited about being downtown and getting back into the swing of things. … So far there’s been an uptick, people are excited to be here.”