A First Watch Daytime Café will be taking over the former Ruby Tuesday location in Greendale
Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday. Hello, First Watch Daytime Café.
The space that housed the Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Greendale isn't staying vacant for long.
First Watch Daytime Café, a Florida-based breakfast, brunch and lunch chain with three locations in the Milwaukee suburbs, will take over the building at 5320 S. 76th St. and is expected to open by mid-year.
Ruby Tuesday closed in early January. The Greenfield location was the Tennessee-based chain's last open restaurant in Wisconsin.
"It's crazy, within a week of Ruby Tuesday being out, First Watch already started working on it," Greendale Village President Jason Cyborowski said.
The plan commission signed off on the proposal Feb. 9 and the village board followed suit on Tuesday.
Timeline uncertain on when First Watch in Greendale could open
When is it expected to open?
"That's the million-dollar question," owner Vinnie Busalacchi said. "June 1 is the date I've been using, but we don't have a construction timeline yet. Once we get that, we'll definitely know."
Busalacchi, of Pewaukee, opened his first First Watch in Brookfield 12 years ago. Restaurants in Mequon and Oak Creek followed, and a Pewaukee location is expected to open by the end of the year.
In Greendale, work is ongoing to transform the building from a Ruby Tuesday-looking structure into one with a First Watch vibe, including painting the exterior shades of white, off-white and black.
Inside, there will be about 44 tables, Busalacchi said. Outside, the patio will be expanded to include about 10 tables.
What the First Watch menu includes
The First Watch menu includes classic favorites, healthy options, omelets and frittatas, pancakes, waffles, French toast, power bowls, salads, sandwiches, kids menu, sides, small plates and more.
Hours will be from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. seven days a week with the exceptions of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The restaurant will employ 30 to 35 workers, most of them full-time.
Yes, hiring at a time when it seems like almost all businesses are looking for help will be a challenge, Busalacchi admitted.
"It's not going to be easy," he said.
One selling point is the hours — never any evening work.
"We close at 2:30, it's pretty nice, people go with their families or work another job or moms who have kids in school, it's actually a pretty good schedule," he said.
Busalacchi said it's nice to be talking about adding locations, especially considering the challenges the pandemic has presented over the last two years.
"Obviously, the whole COVID thing was rough for a lot of people and it's just nice to actually be opening restaurants again," he said. "So yeah, we're just excited to be in another community in the area."
More: A new deli plans to move into the space vacated by Nino's Italian Bakery in downtown Menomonee Falls
Contact Bob Dohr at 262-361-9140 or bob.dohr@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BobDohr1.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: First Watch Daytime Café opening in former Ruby Tuesday in Greendale
