Coquette Cafe in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward permanently shut its doors yesterday after almost 20 years of operation.
The longtime French restaurant, which first opened in 1999 in the Landmark Building at 316 N. Milwaukee St., announced the sudden closure yesterday via Facebook and a current telephone recording says, “We apologize from the bottom of our hearts and we thank you for your many many years of love and support.”
Chefs Nick Burki and Chris Hatleli bought the restaurant in 2010 from original owners Sanford and Angie D’Amato. Burki and Hateli had worked at Coquette since its birth, and at the D’Amatos’ former award-winning restaurant Sanford, which is located at 1547 N. Jackson St. in Milwaukee and was purchased in 2012 by Justin and Sarah Aprahamian.
Burki and Hateli, collectively, have also worked at various Milwaukee-area establishments, including The Social, Sol Fire and Yield, which have all since closed, West Bend Country Club and Milwaukee Art Museum’s Café Calatrava. Neither Burki nor Hateli could be reached for comment.
