Sabrosa Cafe's owners will open Sisu Cafe in Bay View for breakfast and lunch; the name means perseverance
The owners of Sabrosa Cafe and Gallery will open a counter-service, breakfast-and-lunch spot at the other end of the Bay View neighborhood, drawn by development near there.
Chef Frank Sanchez, who operates Sabrosa with partner Ruben Piirainen, plans to open Sisu Cafe as soon as late May or early June at 2121 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. The location most recently was a Taco Stop, and previously a poke restaurant and Subway sandwich shop.
"Basically, it’s Sabrosa fast casual but still Sabrosa standards," Sanchez said of Sisu.
Sisu is a Finnish word that Sanchez translated as meaning perseverance. "How appropriate for these times," he said, after two years of the pandemic and its pressures on restaurants and life in general.
Piirainen's heritage is Finnish, so some Finnish baked goods will be available at Sisu. Sanchez said that could include pulla, the cardamom bread; korvapuusti, cardamom-cinnamon roll; and nisu, cardamom egg bread to slice thick, butter and grill, and serve with jam.
Sisu Cafe also would have breakfast and lunch sandwiches, soups and salads, to appeal to commuters and nearby workers.
On Sundays, however, the restaurant would have leisurely brunches with table service. Sisu would be open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Nearby are the new, 144-unit Kinetik apartment building, which will have food vendors and retail on its first floor, and the new Archer Plaza beside the building, as well as Zillman Park, in line for $500,000 in improvements to activate the green space. Also nearby: the 69-unit Vue apartments at 2200 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and the 291-unit Stitchweld, 2141 S. Robinson Ave.
"That is the gateway to Bay View," Sanchez said, adding, "There’s no way I can not do this."
He's planning to make the restaurant's storefront stand out at the neutral-colored building, which houses several other businesses. Sanchez said he would "doll it up" with an awning and flowers, and add French doors to open the restaurant to Kinnickinnic.
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An advantage of the location is the 70-car parking lot adjacent to it, with two points for entry and exit, Sanchez said.
The Sunday hot-meat market that Sabrosa began a few months ago, selling glazed ham, carnitas and barbacoa at $10 a pound, would move to Sisu .
As at Sabrosa, Sisu likely would have gallery space for local artists, although on a smaller scale, Sanchez said. At night, the restaurant would be available for private parties of 40 to 60 people.
Meanwhile, Sabrosa will depart as the operator of the Skylight Bar and Bistro in the Broadway Theatre Center in the Third Ward, Sanchez said. "The theater community is being hit hard" because of the pandemic, he said, adding that operating the bistro is "not a good fit right now."
Contact Carol at carol.deptolla@jrn.com or (414) 224-2841, or through the Journal Sentinel Food & Home page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter at @mkediner or Instagram at @mke_diner.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sabrosa Cafe owners will open breakfast-lunch Sisu Cafe in Bay View
