{image1} Listen carefully and you might hear the sound of Riverwesterners cheering. Why? Because finally there are brunch options in the 'hood. First at the Bistro at Onopa and now, Mondo Brothers Market and Café.
Russ Davis -- owner of Bella Luna Pasta, Café Vecchio Mondo, Lakefront Brewery Palm Gardens Restaurant and Riverwalk Boat Rentals and Tours -- will open his latest venture on Monday, May 24 at 2731 N. Humboldt Blvd. He planned to open a week earlier, but couldn't because of prolonged building inspections.
Mondo Brothers will feature a full line of natural and organic grocery, deli and bakery items and, most exciting, a Saturday and Sunday brunch that will serve a variety of meaty, vegan and vegetarian breakfast items including French toast, quiches, trout cakes and more. Brunch will be served until 5 p.m.
"The prices are moderate. We're not George Webb's and we're not the Pfister," says Davis, who named the business after "a pair of fictional brothers I never had."
The café seats 24 diners, both indoors and on the patio during the summer months. It will also serve free-trade coffee and teas, beer and wine.
{image2}Davis moved Bella Luna from Commerce and Humboldt to the new location because he couldn't get a long-term commitment from the building owners. Plus, the new unit is much larger with four times the cooler space.
Davis bought the Mondo Brothers building last November from the city. He started remodeling the Riverwest space soon after the purchase.
"I love the area," says Davis. "It's a talented and diverse, up-and-coming neighborhood."
Davis, 42, is a native of Brown Deer who currently lives downtown with his wife and 15-month-old child. Before becoming a restaurateur, he was a photographer for Sports Illustrated and Upper Deck Trading Cards.
"I was on the road 250 days out of the year," he says. "But I got tired of being away from Milwaukee."
Mondo Brothers Market and Café will be open Monday - Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 5 p.m.
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.
