The former Soup Brothers space could become Hen's Deli, a restaurant with 'honest artisan cuisine'
The former Soup Brothers space in Walker's Point will soon become Hen's Deli, run by the owners of Clarke Street Sausage Co.
Lucas McDonald and Vivian Sotolongo are both service industry veterans. Their Riverwest-based sausage company has been a vendor at local farmers markets for the last three years.
Hen's Deli, 209 W. Florida St., will be Clarke Street Sausage's first storefront.
"With our new location we will adopt a new identity, but rest assured that our staples and specialties will remain. We have no intention of changing, rather, we intend only to improve and offer a little more of our well-honed style of honest artisan cuisine," Clarke Street Sausage Co. posted online. "While it pains us not to stake our claim at home in Riverwest like we had hoped, we are proud to continue our journey in a space with a rich history, only 4 miles away."
The post also acknowledged the legacy of Soup Brothers, which occupied the space for 24 years and announced its closure in July.
More: 'We had a good run': Soup Brothers in Walker's Point closes after 24 years
McDonald told the Journal Sentinel that they had landed on leasing the Walker's Point space as a last-ditch effort to open their own storefront in 2022.
"We had a couple things on the books in Riverwest that didn't work out, and we started thinking 2022 wasn't going to happen," McDonald said. "We looked at a last lead after going through several hundred Craigslist listings, and we saw the Soup Brothers location.
"We think its a great location for our fresh food and bakery items."
The couple started Clarke Street Sausage Co. in 2020 after leaving their jobs at View MKE, where McDonald was the executive chef and Sotolongo was a front of house manager.
Previously, McDonald worked at Benji's Sandwich Shop in Shorewood, where he learned deli and butchering skills that he plans to draw on for Hen's Deli.
Early menu items include a smoked pastrami sandwich made with pork shoulder and cold-cut deli sandwiches.
Clark Street Sausage Co. has become a well-known vendor at the Riverwest Gardeners Market, where it is popular for fresh-baked bagels, which will also be available at Hen's Deli.
The couple got the new name as an acronym of their children's names: Hadassah, Eva, and Noah.
"We are very focused on having an old-school, family business feel, so it didn't take long for this name to stick out from our other ideas," McDonald said.
The new home comes after Clarke Street Sausage Co. lost some equipment when a fire broke out in June at Common Cookhouse in Oak Creek, where Clarke Street was a tenant. About 20 food-based businesses were displaced in the incident and the space remains closed, according to its Facebook page.
After the fire, McDonald and Sotolongo became more serious about opening their own storefront. They are working to get licensing and equipment in place to open by the end of this year.
"We're just giving it our all and taking every next step the moment we can see it," McDonald said.
To stay up-to-date on Hen's Deli updates, follow the Instagram page.
More: Milwaukee-area restaurants that permanently closed in 2022
Jordyn Noennig covers Wisconsin culture and lifestyle. Follow her on Instagram @JordynTaylor_n. Find her on Twitter @JordynTNoennig. Call her at 262-446-6601 or email Jordyn.Noennig@jrn.com.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee restaurant Hen's Deli to open in former Soup Brothers space
