The signs which once marked The Tandem restaurant at 1848 W. Fond Du Lac Ave. are officially down. And the plans for the restaurant’s predecessor, 1700 Pull Up, are moving forward.

But 2022 is a tough time to open a restaurant. Costs are high, staffing is tough, and even the most experienced of operators needs the support of the community to get a new eatery off the ground.

Suffice it to say that now would be a really good time for all of us to stand up and support the forthcoming community-driven eatery in the Lindsay Heights Neighborhood.

Maybe that means ordering something delicious from 1700 Pull Up, which is currently still offering pick-up at 1700 W. Lloyd St. Thursday through Sunday (you can view the daily menus on Facebook).  But it could also mean donating time, dollars or services to assist the new brick and mortar eatery in starting out on a firm foundation.

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Nothing is “free”

Last summer, when the call went out for a new tenant to inhabit the restaurant which formerly housed The Tandem, the response was nothing less than impressive. 

But one chef – chosen from nearly 40 applications – quickly moved to the head of the pack. In November of 2021, Chef Rosetta Bond, an MATC culinary graduate and owner of local catering company 1700 Pull Up, was chosen to assume operations at the restaurant.

Her goal was simple. She wanted to establish a neighborhood restaurant where she could nourish her local community.

“I grew up in the 53205 zip code,” she noted in a February interview. “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.”

“This is for all of us,” she said. “This is for the culture, and I want everyone to come, dine in and celebrate with me."

When the news was announced in late January, headlines flooded the internet from media organizations throughout the city, which said things like:

“Winner of The Tandem giveaway will open 1700 Pull Up”
“The Tandem, given to a neighborhood chef…”
“MKE chef excited for future after winning an entire restaurant”
“Milwaukee Tandem gifted…”

Bond says she was excited. But, as the media frenzy died down, she also realized that most people (including her close friends) assumed that she’d been given the restaurant for free and that she didn’t need their help.

“I was so grateful for the opportunity,” she says. “But I also realized that I needed help. I didn’t have any partners. My obligations to pay rent on the space began in December of 2021, and I had a lot of work to do.”

The kitchen at the restaurant needed a new stove and cooler. New gas lines needed to be installed, and there were renovations to be made to get the space to work for the 1700 Pull Up concept. When she went to apply for her business license and she was declined due to missing documentation, she says she realized she was in over her head.

Finding funding

Bond had plenty of experience cooking delicious food; after all, she had been running a successful catering operation for six years. But she had never owned a brick and mortar restaurant. So she says she didn’t have a blueprint for moving forward. 

Because she already had an established business, she also found that she didn’t qualify for many of the assistance programs which were built to help brand new start-ups get off the ground. On top of everything, money was tough to come by. 

Although she had set aside some savings and secured assistance through Brew City Match, which offered her reimbursement for a percentage of the cost of renovations for the space, she didn’t have enough to pay for everything. And it seemed that new expenses cropped up at every turn. For instance, when the compressor on the restaurant’s freezer (where she’d been storing meat for her weekend catering) died, she lost close to $2500 worth of inventory and had to pay for the repair. That set her back by over $6,000. 

Ultimately, she says, she had to think creatively. She sunk every penny from weekend food sales into the new restaurant. She sold t-shirts to make some extra cash. Combined with kind efforts from friends –including Ashley Danielle who held a Drinks 4 A Cause fundraiser for 1700 Pull up at ELV8 and Skybox Sports Bar, which also hosted a fundraiser – she’s been able to move forward.

The money raised helped her to purchase a new stove from Fein Brothers. Of course, since pricing on equipment has been fluctuating wildly, she found that by the time she had the money in hand, the price of the stove had increased by $3,000. Every step forward, it seems, has meant another step backwards.

Yet, despite the challenges, Bond says she’s been lucky. She’s met people over the past six months who’ve been willing to offer advice and mentorship. Most recently, a friend of a friend introduced her to Tracy Grundy of Elevated SOULutions, who has been working with her on a variety of projects related to establishing her brick and mortar. 

“It literally came out of the clear blue sky,” says Bond. “And I’ve been so grateful. She has taught me so much and helped me out with so many different things.”

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It takes a village

When Caitlin Cullen opened The Tandem in 2016, she did so with a great deal of assistance from the community. In fact, it was that community support that kept the restaurant running, and which made it possible for the restaurant to operate as a neighborhood “soup kitchen” during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And – whether Bond has outwardly asked for it or not – she could definitely use some of the same support. In fact, the next few weeks will be key.

Currently, Bond says that she’s preparing to hire both front and back of house staff including line cooks, bartenders and servers (watch social media for postings). She says she’d love to find some folks who bring experience to the table so that she can concentrate on making the best food possible.

But she also has a few projects she’d like to complete, including replacing the restaurant’s sound system (which was donated to the restaurant, but currently does not work), paying for the new signage for the restaurant (which has been designed, but can’t be mounted until it’s paid for) and purchasing a convection oven and fryers for the kitchen.

“I’d also love to fill the restaurant with art from local artists,” she says. “But we’ll see. This has all been so much harder than I thought it would be – both the renovation side and the business side. I’ve estimated that I’ll need about $90,000 to get things rolling and make it through the first year of business.”

Despite the challenges, she’s still hopeful that, if all goes well, she’ll be able to launch the soft opening for 1700 Pull Up in early fall, with an official grand opening to follow in December. 

“It’s definitely been rough,” Bond admits, “But this is still my dream. I can’t imagine doing anything else but this. It’s my passion and it’s still absolutely what I want to be doing at this time in my life.”

Do you have resources that might help 1700 Pull Up get off on a solid foot? Email Rosetta Bond at 1700pullup@gmail.com.

You can also keep up with 1700 Pull Up by following the restaurant on Facebook and Instagram.