Zillis will open Coast restaurant in downtown Milwaukee’s O’Donnell Park
The family that owns Ellen’s Prestige Catering and the Grandview Inn in Waukesha will open Coast restaurant in O’Donnell Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront Aug. 4. Coast will be operated by Grandview Management Inc., which is privately owned by the Zilli family of Waukesha.
The restaurant and bar will be in the facility formerly occupied by Nola’s restaurant, at the east end of Wisconsin Avenue and near the Milwaukee Art Museum.
"We have been feeling the pulse, dynamism and growth of Milwaukee over the last decade, and we wanted to be at the forefront of this movement," said Steph Zilli, Grandview Management’s director of operations, commenting on the downtown site as a "face" for the company’s culinary enterprise.
"We not only believe in the future of this city, we want to be part of the momentum," added Jim Zilli, Grandview’s vice president of sales and marketing. "We want to build a place that our younger generation can enjoy and that our older generation can be proud of. Coast is our crown jewel and our vehicle to contribute to the synergy in downtown Milwaukee."
"In a recently released study by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship, this city ranked in the top 12% in the country for the number of high-growth companies that experienced significant and rapid expansion in the last decade," Steph Zilli said. "Even in the face of recent events, we looked around at the infrastructural buildup, the employment and business start-ups, and we saw the right economic indicators for this enterprise."
Grandview Management is the holding company of Zilli’s Grandview Inn and of Ellen’s Prestige Catering, the largest volume off-premise catering company in the Midwest. In downtown Milwaukee, Grandview also operates the Miller Room and Harbor Lights banquet facilities at O’Donnell Park, and The Café at the Milwaukee Art Musuem.
The Zillis also are partners in the Manchester East Hotel in Glendale.
Coast will have seating for 250 in 11,000 square feet of space and will be decorated in a coastal motif. A local photographer has been retained to capture images of landmark coastlines in the United States for the restaurant.
The restaurant will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, and special-events catering will be offered. The Zillis say diners at Coast "will be taken on an armchair culinary roadtrip with offerings like Pacific Northwest Wasabi glazed salmon, New York strip steak served with Yucca mashed potatoes, California inspired chicken primavera, Frisco Cioppino, Deep South crispy apple beignets and California fruit fondue with bubbling dark chocolate.
A team of bakers will prepare seven-inch-high popovers throughout the day. Guests can enjoy the aromas while viewing the made-from-scratch popovers through the open window at the entranceway.
A "fresh market" display in the midst of the restaurant will showcase the restaurant’s fresh produce and seafood offerings.
July 11, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
