After more than 38 years, the Chancery restaurant in Wauwatosa will be renovated and converted to a Jose’s Blue Sombrero restaurant.
The restaurant is located at 7613 W. State St. in the downtown village area of Wauwatosa.
Wauwatosa-based DeRosa Corp., which owns both the Chancery and Jose’s Blue Sombrero brands, will close the restaurant on Jan. 14 and begin the renovations, which are expected to last through early June.
The renovations will include a revamped exterior with the restaurant opening up to the street, sidewalk seating and with seating on a second floor balcony. Tredo Group LLC is the design firm for the project.
The company has offered all current employees at the location the opportunity to transfer to any one of its other nearby restaurants during the transition.
When the restaurant re-opens as Jose’s Blue Sombrero, it will have two floors of customer seating, including multi-level outdoor seating with an upstairs patio and a street-side patio. Final designs for the restaurant are not yet approved by the Village of Wauwatosa.
In 1978, DeRosa Corp. completely renovated and converted the Wauwatosa Village bank property into the Chancery Pub and Restaurant.
“This restaurant has been a blessing to our company,” said Joe DeRosa, owner, chairman and CEO of the DeRosa Corp. “The current concept at this location has served the community for 38 years and the time has come for something new. A Jose’s Blue Sombrero is just what is needed to compliment the Village of Wauwatosa’s current renovation project. We are looking forward to bringing ‘unexpected Mexican’ to Wauwatosa.”
DeRosa Corp. opened its first Chancery in 1972 in Racine. Jose’s Blue Sombrero started in Racine in 2001. DeRosa Corp. owns and operates eight restaurants in southeastern Wisconsin. There are currently four Chancery restaurant locations throughout the region, three Jose’s Blue Sombrero locations and a restaurant in Brookfield called Parkside 23, which grows and produces specialty produce from its 10,000 square-foot farm.
