Carnevor owner Omar Shaikh said the downtown Milwaukee restaurant is exploring its options of moving into a larger downtown space, with
The Couture being one option.
Carnevor is an upscale steakhouse whose customers have included celebrities and professional athletes.
It now occupies 5,500 square feet at 718 N. Milwaukee St. Shaikh said its lease there is up in two years, so now is the time to consider whether to stay there or move somewhere else in the downtown area.
"We're just exploring our options right now," he said.
One of them is The Couture, a $190 million high-rise under construction at 909 E. Michigan St. near the downtown lakefront. The 44-story project will include 322 apartments, 43,000 square feet of commercial space, open park space and a public transit center.
Carnevor is bursting at the seams in its current situation. Shaikh said the restaurant is turning down six to 10 parties each day.
He is considering expanding Carnevor's footprint to somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. The added space would allow Carnevor to have three 10-person rooms for private dinners, a dividable banquet room and an expanded kitchen to accommodate the added dining area.
Carnevor's existing lease is up May 2023. The Couture team said the project could meet the date Carnevor would need to move in, if it chose to sign a lease there, Shaikh said.
In a tweet, Shaikh showed a rendering of The Couture with the restaurant on the third floor of the building.
Through a spokesperson, Rick Barrett, founder and chief executive of The Couture developer
Barrett Lo Visionary Development, declined to comment on the talks with Carnevor.
"We are exploring some amazing options for retail tenants in the Couture," he said in a statement. "This will be a world-class building, and we are reviewing opportunities to bring destination amenities to this space to serve both our residents and the broader community. We look forward to making some exciting announcements in the future."
The Couture
started construction in May. Crews recently reached the bottom of the hole dig,
and are now driving piles and pouring concrete. It is slated for completion in 2023, though Barrett hasn't given a specific date beyond that.
Barrett
laid out his ideal setup for The Couture's commercial space in a previous BizTimes interview.
“If I were going to draw it up myself, I would be looking for a gourmet grocer, something along the lines of a city Target, maybe some great Milwaukee pedigreed restaurants with, I could see, some medical office in here that would be conducive to the residents,” he said. “Just some things that would be appealing to all the people living there, because at the end of the day there’s going to be 500-600 new people living in those 322 apartments."
Shaikh, meanwhile, is also working to open the
3rd Street Market Hall in The Avenue development, at 275 W. Wisconsin Ave. The food and entertainment hall will have numerous food vendors, a Topgolf simulator and other entertainment amenities.
