Early Easter Sunday morning, a devastating fire broke out at Elsa's On the Park, 833 N. Jefferson St., destroying the entire kitchen. For unknown reasons, very little was reported by the media.
Owner Karl Kopp, who is traveling and not available for comment, originally kept the bar open during the reconstruction of the kitchen, but in mid-May, decided to close the entire establishment and renovate the whole place.
Kopp, who also owns the Kopp's Custard chains in Milwaukee and restaurants in New York and Arizona, named Elsa's after his late mother, Elsa Kopp, who passed away last summer. In 1950, Elsa Kopp opened the first Kopp's Frozen Custard stand as a way to support her family after her husband became disabled due to Parkinson's disease.
According to an Elsa's employee who wished to remain anonymous, both the bar and kitchen will open by the end of July, but Bob Janik, an estimator with Paul Davis Renovation -- the company doing the work -- thinks early August is more realistic.
As for the new look of Elsa's, Janik says the renovations are extensive throughout the entire establishment, including new bathrooms, bar, floor, ceiling and kitchen.
"It's going to have a very fresh look," he says. "White walls and a lot of clean lines."
Just as long as the burgers are still on the menu, Milwaukeeans most likely will be pleased with the new Elsa's.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
