Eugene Smith, the owner of Gene’s Supper Club, 4323 N. 60th St., Milwaukee, plans to open a restaurant called the Cotton Club at 540 W. North Ave., in the Bronzeville district.
Eugene Smith, the owner of Gene’s Supper Club, 4323 N. 60th St., Milwaukee, wants to open a restaurant called the Cotton Club at 540 W. North Ave., in the Bronzeville district.
The North Avenue building is a vacant former tavern now owned by the City of Milwaukee. The city issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking redevelopment proposals for the building. City officials are currently reviewing Smith’s proposal. Smith could not be reached for comment.
A previous plan by a group of business partners to redevelop the building into a café, night club and artist space, fell through.
Bronzeville is an African-American cultural and entertainment district that the city is trying to establish in the area bounded by West Meinecke Avenue, North Seventh Street, West Garfield Avenue and North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The plan is to create an area similar to the Bronzeville neighborhood that featured many night clubs, restaurants, entertainment venues and other businesses owned by African-Americans along West Walnut Street. The neighborhood was destroyed by freeway construction in the 1960s.
Momentum is building for the new Bronzeville. Last year, a handful of new businesses opened in or near the Bronzeville district including: Garfield 502, a music club and restaurant at 502 W. Garfield Ave.; Just Jazz & Blues Lounge at 634 W. North Ave.; Gee’s Clippers and Hair Design, 2215 N. King Drive and SOCHE, a restaurant at 2213 North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The Milwaukee Urban League moved from 2800 Wright St. to 435 W. North Ave. in Bronzeville.
In addition, former Milwaukee Bucks coach Terry Porter plans to build a five-story, mixed use building at the southwest corner of North 7th Street and West North Avenue. The building would include a sports and entertainment complex with a restaurant and condominiums on the upper floors.
The city owns about a dozen properties in the Bronzeville area, including the building at 540 W. North Ave., and will seek proposals to redevelop them.
