3rd Street Market Hall will finally open its doors to the public this Friday, Jan. 14.
The opening of the food hall, announced Wednesday over social media, comes after months of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent supply chain disruption. Downtown Milwaukee’s newest food attraction is located on the ground floor of The Avenue development at the former Grand Avenue Mall on West Wisconsin Avenue.
3rd Street Market Hall features a 50-seat central bar and entertainment amenities including Top Golf Swing Suites, shuffleboard courts, snookball, Photoverse selfie museum (a creation of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design), old-school arcade games, and a turf area with yard games and seating. It will eventually house 19 food and retail businesses. Nine of those vendors will open Friday:
- Dairyland – Frozen custard and hamburgers
- Mid-Way Bakery – An off-shoot of Dairyland, selling breads, croissants, Dutchies, cookies, and brownies, as well as soup, grab-and-go sandwiches, and salads.
- Brew City Brand – Milwaukee-themed apparel
- Green House – Sandwiches, soups and build-your-own salad
- Make Waves – Smoothies, juices and acai bowls
- Amano Pan – Artisan breads, pastries and pizza
- Hot Dish Pantry – Globally inspired midwestern comfort food
- Middle East Side – Middle Eastern-inspired flat breads
- Strega – Fresh-made pasta
Six more vendors are “coming soon,” according to the food hall’s website:
- Anytime Arepa – Venezuelan arepas, prepared on the grill
- Super Nova – Coffee and donuts
- Dawg City – East Coast- and southern-inspired hot dogs, 100% beef
- Kawa Ramen & Sushi – Japanese cuisine
- Paper Plane Pizza – Pizza by the slice and whole
- Sweet Treats
Diners will be able to order carryout from any vendors through the food hall’s website.
Following a pause in construction at the onset of the pandemic, 3rd Street Market Hall had initially set a spring 2021 target opening, which was later pushed back to summer 2021 and then to Oct. 18, after several vendors pulled out due to the pandemic’s financial toll.
In June, the 3rd Street Market Hall project was granted a $2 million loan from the Milwaukee Economic Development Corp. Co-developers Omar Shaikh, Josh Krsnak, Tony Janowiec utilized the funds to support the buildout of some of the tenant spaces so vendors didn’t have to pay for that themselves. The project drew additional investment from Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers and Randall Cobb of the Green Bay Packers.
However, its opening met further delay as supply chain disruption and hiring challenges persisted. In December, about 300 local business and community leaders got a sneak peak of the food hall when it hosted a fundraiser event benefitting the United for Waukesha Community Fund.
Shaikh said previously that a formal grand opening event will be held in March or April when the majority of vendors are up and running.
3rd Street Market Hall will share the ground floor with the ‘MIAD Gallery at The Ave,’ which was announced last year. The 2,500-square-foot year-round gallery features works by current MIAD students, alumni, faculty and staff. All pieces on exhibit are available for purchase.
The Avenue project also includes the 52-unit Plankinton Clover apartments and 190,000 square feet of office space. Office tenants include Good Karma Brands and its four Milwaukee-based radio stations, Graef-USA Inc., Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District No. 21, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Herzing University and TEMPO.
