EsterEv to close for weeks following flood in building

Upscale Bay View restaurant EsterEv will be closed for the next several weeks following a flood in the building that destroyed its dining room.

The restaurant is operated by acclaimed local chefs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite, who have earned six James Beard Award nominations for EsterEv’s globally inspired tasting menu. Jacobs was also a contestant on the previous season of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” which was filmed in Wisconsin.

The flood was caused by a faulty valve in the building’s second story, according to a social media post last week. Much of the dining room and bar area has now been gutted; the restaurant expects to remain closed at least through the month of June so repair work can be done. An official reopening date has yet to be determined.

The “absolute catastrophe” comes about one year after EsterEv moved into its newly designed space at 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., relocating from its original spot inside sibling restaurant DanDan in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. Just days before the flood, the restaurant had rolled out a new a la carte menu alongside its classic eight-course tasting menu.

Employees discovered the flood on May 3, when they entered the restaurant to find water streaming from the ceiling, drenching the floorboards and saturating the basement, which houses EsterEv’s prep space. Other local outlets reported that at least 200 gallons of water flooded the space.

“The past week was spent removing ceiling panels, floorboards, sections of wall and the entire bar in order to gauge the extent of water damage. It was and continues to be considerable,” according to the post.

EsterEv occupies the ground floor of a historic building, originally constructed in 1900, city records show, so the restoration process could be challenging: “Many elements but especially the maple floors are difficult to replace and will require a considerable amount of time.”

During the closure, EsterEv is “doing work behind the scenes to come back better than ever.” That includes foraging, recipe testing, pop-ups at other restaurants and special events. Diners are encouraged to patronize DanDan to help support the EsterEv team.