There’s a new restaurant coming to the former home of The Tandem at 1848 W. Fond Du Lac Ave. And, like its predecessor, the new concept will be a tangible investment in the Lindsay Heights community.

1700 Pull Up is the name of the concept, operated by Chef Rosetta Bond, which will serve a seasonally changing menu of soul food staples including turkey legs, fried and smothered pork chops, pan-seared lamb chops and sides including greens, macaroni and cheese, dressing and candied yams.

But, much like the restaurant which came before it, 1700 Pull Up will also intentionally function as a community hub which employs local youth and offers residents a place to gather and nourish their bodies and souls.

Stiff competition

When the announcement was made that a new tenant was being sought out for The Tandem, the response was nothing less than impressive. But Bond’s presentation made an impression.

“Not only was her food great, but the energy she brought to her presentation just blew everyone away,” says Jeremy Davis, managing partner for The Valentine Group, which manages the property. “She’s also a longtime resident and deeply rooted in the neighborhood, which really fits the live, work, serve ethic that we’ve espoused with this project.”

Davis says they received at least 40 initial inquiries about the space from a diverse pool of applicants, all of whom submitted compelling stories and shared their dreams of operating a restaurant in the neighborhood. It was a factor that made narrowing down the applicants a tough process.

However, after pairing the initial applications down to 15, and requesting additional information from the interested parties, Davis says a group of four were invited to present to a panel of reviewers, which included Davis and Dave Lange, managing partners of The Valentine Group, Developer Juli Kauffman, Caitlin Cullen, BID #32 chair Steve Devougas, local business owners Manaan Sabir and TrueMann McGee, Venice Williiams of Alice’s Garden and longtime Walnut Way volunteer Christina Ward. 

He says that Bond’s presentation, which included a tasting of her popular offerings, including turkey legs, macaroni and cheese and lamb chops, stood out for numerous reasons.

“She makes traditional soul food,” he says. “But she also brings a creative twist to it. And that’s a really big component to success when it comes to establishing a restaurant.”

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A true neighborhood restaurant

Bond’s catering business was just a twinkle in her eye seven years ago when Juli Kaufmann and Davis took on the redevelopment of the former Wally Schmidt tavern, a project which aimed to catalyze economic investment in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood. But, as a resident of Lindsay Heights, Bond was a witness to the changes happening around her.

Kauffman and Davis were not the only folks who invested time and energy in the neighborhood. Residents, including Sharon and Larry Adams of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., Venice Williams of Alice’s Garden Urban Farm and countless others have contributed to neighborhood development, from the transformation of the former Blommer Ice Cream Factory into Legacy Lofts, the creation of Adams Garden Park and the establishment of Taste of Lindsay Heights, a restaurant featuring food from local entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, by late 2016, The Tandem was also contributing to the neighborhood through its commitment to training local youth, providing an oasis for local residents and bringing visibility to an area which motorists often sped past, but seldom stopped. Even after closing to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, Caitlin Cullen and her staff continued to serve the community, providing relief in the form of 115,000 community meals for local residents.

And now, as Bond prepares to open a brick and mortar restaurant in that same location on Fond du Lac Avenue, she says she couldn’t think of a more ideal location.

“I grew up in the 53205 zip code,” she says. “And I live in a duplex right around the corner. My family has a history here. My grandmother was one of the first African-American women in the city to own her own store on 20th and Clarke. And being able to do what I love in my community is a big deal.”

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A community gathering place

Bond, who graduated from Milwaukee Area Technical College's culinary program last spring, officially established 1700 Pull Up in 2017 after years of working in the banking industry.

The job was practical, she says, but not particularly fulfilling, a factor which prompted her decision to leave her job and pursue her passion for cooking full-time.

“I grew up in the kitchen cooking with my aunts and my grandmother,” she says, noting that her house quickly became a place where friends and family gathered to enjoy good meals. But, she says, she never really thought about her cooking as a way to make a living until about five or six years ago.

“When my son was 3,” she says, “I decided I wanted to take my family to the Dells and rent a cabin. My cousin suggested that I sell meals to people that I knew to get the money for the trip. I thought it was crazy at first. But I decided to try, and I ended up making enough money to get all 20 of us to the Dells.”

The experience gave her the confidence she needed to officially establish 1700 Pull Up as a meal pick-up and catering business.

Bond says the menu at the new restaurant will largely reflect the offerings she’s been making for customers for the past four years and will include core items like stuffed turkey legs (regular or jerk seasoned), lamb chops and sides like dressing, macaroni and cheese and candied sweet potatoes. She says she’d also like to continue to offer a soul food menu with items like pork chops and chicken (fried or smothered), meatloaf and chicken and waffles.

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Guests can also expect items like steak and corned beef sandwiches, gumbo, dirty rice, grits and fried catfish. But she says she also expects the menu to change with the seasons.

As for the interior of the restaurant, Bond says that she hopes to make primarily cosmetic changes to the space. 

“I’d like to establish a boho-chic vibe,” she says, noting that she’d like to incorporate bright colors into the interior, as well as some new furniture if her budget allows.

Davis says they hope to support Bond as she works to gain licensure and occupancy for the restaurant.

“We’re trying our best to help her through the process,” he says. “We really want to assist her in making it into her space and her concept.”

Bond says she plans to contribute to the ongoing legacy that The Tandem established in the space by hiring neighborhood youth and giving back to the community as a whole. 

“My family has always instilled that in me, so I plan to keep that going,” she says. “I’ve always done as much as I can to contribute with my business and that’s not going to change.”

She says she’s also committed to the neighborhood in terms of giving residents a place to gather and enjoy a great meal and conversation.

“I want people to know that I’m here to stay,” she says. “I’m so grateful for the space and the opportunity to feed people six days a week. This is for all of us. This is for the culture, and I want everyone to come, dine in and celebrate with me."

Guests will need to wait a few more months before they can enjoy a meal inside the new 1700 Pull Up restaurant, which Bond says will ultimately be open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

But, in the meantime, prospective customers can get a taste of Bond’s food by ordering meals for pick-up through CashDrop.biz. Weekly offerings can be found on 1700 Pull Up’s Facebook and Instagram feeds.