A long-vacant West Allis bar is on track to trade beer signs for birria. Taqueria El Toro has filed plans to turn the shuttered Fifty Seven Bar on West Burnham Street into a full-service, sit-down Mexican restaurant with a bar.
The proposal would overhaul the ground-floor space at 5632 W. Burnham St. and add another brick-and-mortar outpost to a local taqueria group already known for its stands, trucks and restaurants across the Milwaukee area.
The application, submitted April 16 by Taqueria El Toro LLC, calls for converting the building's entire first floor into dining and bar space and lists Raul Arteaga of BMR Design Group as the project designer. Project documents estimate construction could begin in May and wrap up in roughly four to six months, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Plan commission set to weigh in
The West Allis Plan Commission is scheduled to review the proposal at its meeting on Wednesday. If the commission recommends approval, the conditional-use permit would head to the Common Council on Tuesday, May 5 for a final vote. City meeting materials for the request are posted in the City of West Allis meeting packet.
What El Toro would bring to Burnham
On paper, the new spot would be open roughly 10 a.m. to midnight on weekdays, with Saturday hours stretched to 1 a.m. The menu is outlined as a greatest hits roster of appetizers, tacos, burritos, tortas and fajitas.
Taqueria El Toro is owned by Toribio Perez Martinez and already runs multiple locations and food trucks around the area, a growth streak the restaurant has been pursuing in recent years, according to Urban Milwaukee.
Timeline and building changes
Project documents describe a reconfiguration of a footprint that previously included a tavern and an upstairs residential apartment, with the entire first floor shifting to restaurant operations. The filing with city staff notes construction could begin in May and targets completion around November 2026 if the work follows the four to six month schedule in the application, per the City of West Allis meeting packet.
Neighbors and restaurant-watchers will get their first official look at the plans at Wednesday's Plan Commission meeting. Any council decision would likely follow in early May. If the project clears those hurdles, Burnham Street could soon add a late-night, sit-down Mexican option to a corridor that has been seeing a steady return of restaurant life.
