MKE Sports & Entertainment, the owner and operator of The Rock Sports Complex in Franklin and the Milwaukee Wave professional soccer team, today announced a new food and beverage partnership with Jake and Seth Dehne.
The partnership with the Dehne brothers will bring there three downtown Milwaukee venues: Buckhead Saloon at 1044 Old World Third St., Upper 90 Sports Pub at 322 W. State St. and the recently closed Suite night club at 1103 N. Old World Third St., under the MKE Sports & Entertainment umbrella.
The Dehne brothers will also handle food and beverage operations at The Rock Sports Complex, which includes ballpark concessions, the Umbrella Bar, DiMaggio’s Stone Fire Pizza and Tap Works; and food and beverage operations for a new minor league baseball team in Kokomo, Ind. that is owned by MKE Sports & Entertainment, and food and beverage operations for the Rockford Aviators baseball team in Rockford, Ill, which is managed and operated by MKE Sports & Entertainment.
“Partnering with Jake and Seth is nearly perfect for us,” said MKE Sports & Entertainment owner Mike Zimmerman. “They have a proven track record as operators and think contemporary about the space in terms of what customers want and how food and beverage integrates with entertainment venues. It’s a core piece of our business today and we estimate that it will be roughly 50 percent of our revenues in the future.”
Food and beverage operations at Milwaukee Wave games will continue to be handled by Levy Restaurants, which is the food and beverage vendor for the Wisconsin Center District, which includes the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, where the Wave plays.
The food and beverage operations provided by the Dehne brothers and MKE Sports & Entertainment will operate under one flagship, called 3 Beacons.
“We are not looking to build just one powerhouse brand,” said Seth Dehne. “Instead we want to create a bunch of exciting ‘micro venues’ where we can integrate food, beverage and entertainment as one.”
The Suite night club closed recently and will be renovated and reopened with a new concept, said MKE Sports & Entertainment spokesman Van McNeil. The renovation is being designed by Rinka Chung Architecture.
“As a group we have some of the best locations in greater Milwaukee,” said Jake Dehne. “Upper 90 Sports Pub is a stone’s throw from UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and will play nicely with the MKE Wave and UWM basketball for pre- and post-game activities. Buckhead Saloon has been one of Milwaukee’s largest nightlife venues for nine years on Old World 3rd Street, while the Suite location is arguably one of the best around and our new concept will work nicely with Bucks, Marquette, Admirals and other Bradley Center events. As for The Rock’s Sports Complex location in Franklin and the other MKE Sports & Entertainment ventures, it becomes a really interesting ecosystem of brands to cross promote and entertain our customers.”
