Thirty-five Milwaukee restaurants, bakeries, breweries and bars are rolling out vegan specials from November 2 through 8 as the second annual Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week returns with five more businesses than it launched with last year. The event, led by Café Corazón owner Wendy Mireles, will bring new menu items ranging from a sushi platter at a Walker's Point restaurant to a plant-based chicken and waffles plate in Bay View.
A Second Year, Five More Businesses
The inaugural Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week launched in November 2025 with roughly 30 participating restaurants, bakeries, breweries and bars, according to Urban Milwaukee. This year's lineup has grown to 35 local businesses, with Mireles saying her original dream was for the event to become an annual tradition that expands and evolves every year. She added that having 35 businesses sign on again is a testament to Milwaukee. Visit Milwaukee is an official sponsor of the event, according to Visit Milwaukee.
Restaurants interested in partnering can contact Stephanie Vienonen, Café Corazón's vegan community ambassador, at [email protected]. Throughout the week, Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week will release additional specials, events and offers on Instagram, per the same Urban Milwaukee report.
Specials Span The City, From Sushi To Sweets
Participating restaurants are leaning into signature plant-based twists for the occasion. Classic Slice, at 2797 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., plans to offer $1 off vegan slices and $2 off vegan 16- and 20-inch pies. Cloud Red, located at 4488 N. Oakland Ave., is bringing back its Wonder Burger — a whole grain and veggie patty topped with tajín-grilled pineapple, guacamole, baked jalapeño poppers, pickled onion and cabbage.
Honeypie Cafe, at 2569 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., is offering four limited-time vegan specials, including a vegan French dip, vegan chicken and waffles, the Honeypie Famous Bowl and local nondairy vanilla ice cream. Screaming Tuna, at 106 S. Seeboth St., will serve its Vegan for Two sushi platter, typically only available at the restaurant's Mequon location. La Cocina Del Sur, at 701 E. Keefe Ave., plans two limited-time specials: a roasted corn and arugula salad, and a patacon pisado built with double-fried plantain medallions, black beans, slaw, chimichurri sauce, pickled onions and cilantro.
Café Corazón Hosts A Tasting For Charity
Café Corazón, at 3129 N. Bremen St. in Riverwest, is planning its own additions for the week, including a new cauliflower ceviche dish. The restaurant will also host a $10 Vegan 101 meet-up and menu tasting at that location, with proceeds donated to Sauce Milwaukee, a nonprofit that delivers meals by bicycle to Milwaukeeans facing food insecurity.
Sauce Milwaukee was founded in 2021 by Gianni Vaccaro to combat local food insecurity by collecting surplus food donations and delivering free plant-based meals year-round, according to HYFIN Radio. Café Corazón itself has deep roots in Milwaukee's plant-based dining scene: George and Wendy Mireles founded the restaurant in Riverwest in 2009 after relocating from San Francisco following the 2008 Great Recession, eventually expanding to Bay View and Brown Deer locations along with a food truck, per the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
A Changing Local Landscape
The restaurant week's growth arrives amid some turbulence for Mireles' own business and for Milwaukee's broader plant-based dining community. Café Corazón's Bay View location was slated to close, while its other locations were to remain open, Urban Milwaukee reported separately. Three employees filed a lawsuit alleging that Café Corazón's mandatory tip pool unlawfully included owners, managers and supervisors under the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to CBS 58.
Other dedicated plant-based operators in the city have voiced similar strain. Strange Town, a fully vegan restaurant, issued an urgent appeal for customer support in December 2025 after facing severe revenue drops and its slowest weeks since 2020, according to Milwaukee Record. Nationally, total U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods reached $7.9 billion in 2025, a 2% decline in dollar sales and 3% drop in unit volume compared to 2024, according to Good Food Institute data cited by Tastewise. Plant-based items remain among U.S. restaurant menu offerings.
Plant-Based Dining Finds Local Support
Despite those national headwinds, Plant Joy Deli has received grant funding in Wauwatosa, underscoring continued interest in plant-based dining across the Milwaukee metro even as individual operators navigate uneven finances.
