A company called The Brunch Society LLC has filed plans to open a new brunch restaurant at 509 E. Erie St. in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward, taking aim at a riverfront space that has sat empty since December. The application, submitted to the city's Office of the City Clerk License Division, calls for new furniture, paint and flooring, though no menu items were included in the filing.
According to BizTimes, The Brunch Society LLC is registered to Flamur Ibraimi, who was unavailable for comment at the time of publication. The planned lease runs through Sept. 1, 2028, giving the concept less than two years to establish itself along the Milwaukee River if it moves forward.
The 6,200-square-foot space sits within the Hansen's Landing condominium complex, developed by Renner Architects, the outlet reports. It was sold by an affiliate of the same architecture firm to Milwaukee-based Herrera Properties LLC for $1.55 million, per the BizTimes report.
A Riverfront Spot With a Revolving Door of Tenants
This address has seen more turnover than most Third Ward storefronts in recent years. Riverfront Pizzeria Bar & Grille operated there for roughly two decades before closing in February 2024, the report notes. Brisa Do Mar, a Mediterranean and Italian restaurant, then took over the space before shutting down in December after about a year and a half in business.
A proposed concept also figured in the location's history. Before Brisa Do Mar arrived, Urban Milwaukee reported that license applications had been filed for Sea Fire Brasserie, a concept from Shannon Rowell that was expected to open in April 2024 and begin a three-year lease that June, with permits requested for live music, bands, dancing and DJs.
Riverside Dining and a Boat Pier
The property has long been marketed around its waterfront setting. Listing materials described the space as including riverside dining, event space and a boat pier, the site notes. That riverfront draw has made the address a recurring target for restaurateurs even as tenants have come and gone.
Riverfront Pizzeria's original run ended when owner Arturo Napoles Carrera announced the closure in an online post, according to the same Urban Milwaukee report. Carrera had bought out the restaurant's original sibling owners in 2017 and continued running the business with his own family until it closed in February 2024.
Whether The Brunch Society LLC's application will clear city review and lead to an actual opening remains to be seen, as the filing so far includes renovation plans but no public word on a menu, concept name beyond the LLC, or timeline for serving its first plates.
