Bay View will soon have its very own burger joint in the form of Crafty Cow, a restaurant specializing in Jucy Lucy style burgers, cheese curds and creative appetizers.
However, in the days before Crafty Cow officially opens its doors at 2671 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View, sister restaurant Bumstead Provisions will host a Crafty Cow pop-up featuring the mad skills of Chef Shay Linkus from The Vanguard.
Linkus will collaborate with Crafty Cow Chef Greg Gannaway on a special burger menu, which will showcase some of what’s to come at the forthcoming restaurant.
The pop-up will take place on Friday, March 31 from 10 p.m. to midnight and will feature drink specials including $3 tallboys and $3 Revel Stoke Whiskey.
The Great Milwaukee Project
Owners Mike Bodow, David Eichler and Devin Eichler will also use the pop-up as a launching pad for The Great Milwaukee Project, a passion project they’ve been pulling together for over a year.
The Great Milwaukee Project’s three primary focuses are inclusion, collaboration and philanthropy, says Bodow. "Everyone is welcome. The Great Milwaukee Project is supposed to get wheels turning. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, we’re urging collaboration."
Phase one focuses on collaborative burgers.
Crafty Cow’s menu will feature five special burgers which will showcase ideas gleaned from five Milwaukee area businesses. A portion of the proceeds from each burger will be donated to a rotating list of local charitable organizations, as well as "people making a difference in Milwaukee."
"The first part of The Project will get the ball rolling, get a bunch of business owners who otherwise might not have known each other in contact and get ideas flowing" says Eichler, who points out that burgers are just the beginning. "There will be socials, brainstorming and activation sessions, charity and community events and hopefully a lot of giving."
"Inclusion is the key," notes Bodow. "We meet so many business owners who don’t have a support system outside of their four walls. No one I’ve met claims to know everything. It’s nice to be able to talk to other people who have had varying experiences as Milwaukee business owners."
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
