Downtown coffee shop closes, to be replaced by Subway Café

Mocha A Coffee Bistro, located at 124 West Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee, closed recently. Mocha was owned by Milwaukee restaurateur John “Johnny V” Vassallo.
The space, located at the northeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Plankinton Avenue, one of the downtown’s busiest intersections, will not remain vacant for long. Milford, Conn.-based The Subway Group plans to open a Subway Café in the space, said Mike Mervis, vice president with Milwaukee-based Zilber Ltd., which owns the building.
Subway Café is a new concept for the company, which combines a sandwich shop with a coffee shop, Mervis said. The Milwaukee Subway Cafe will only be the fourth Subway Café location.
The Subway Café will be corporate-owned, not a franchise, Mervis said.
“The new Subway format is ideally suited for this downtown setting and I know that they will be extremely successful,” said John Kersey, executive vice president of Zilber Ltd. Subway Café will offer cappuccino, latte, espresso, iced coffee and pastries along with Subway sandwiches.