{image1} Tucked away on a quiet one-way street in downtown Tosa -- aka The Village -- is a little café that has been serving patrons for years. What was once La Boulangerie became Nova Cena in 2003 and, as of last Thursday, is called One-Way Café and Gallery.
The café, at 1427 Underwood Ave., is owned by Sandy Haeger and Liz Adisek, who bought it last fall.
"We actually purchased it last September," Haeger says, "but we were renting the name from Nova Cena."
The time was right for the place to have an identity of its own, and they really wanted to add the word "Gallery" to the name.
"We're using our space here for rotating exhibits of local artists," says Haeger, who admits that otherwise not much has changed.
The rustic exposed brick walls, flanked by walls painted a brilliant green, and terra cotta tiled floors are the same. The menu -- featuring a mix of tasty salads, soups and sandwiches hasn't changed, either. All are still made on site in the small kitchen in back. (Don't miss the rich and sumptuous hazelnut chocolate bars!)
There are still the same brewed coffees, espresso-based drinks and baked goods prepared by Nova Cena's kitchen in the Third Ward. And there's still hot ham on Sundays.
{image2}Most of the employees worked here when it was Nova Cena and some even got paychecks back when it was La Bou.
Hey, why mess with a good thing? One-Way Café is a great place to sit in the window and watch passersby. With free wireless Internet, it's also a good place to escape and get some work done.
One-Way plans to change the artwork every six to eight weeks, Haeger says. At the moment, the large-scale canvases of painter Kristelle M. Ulrich-SanFilipo are currently on display. Her geometric works are rendered in eye-opening bright hues. An opening reception for the show is slated for Friday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.
Which brings us to the one change One-Way hopes to affect soon. The place has always been shuttered, with lights out, by 4 p.m. most days. A wine license has been applied for and when it arrives, One-Way will welcome the after work crowd with a range of wines.
"We can't wait to change that," says Haeger, who adds that she hopes the approval will come within a month. "Our intention is to bring some wine in here and expand our hours a little bit to include some after work snacks and drinks."
However, no full-scale restaurant is planned, due to the limitations of the small kitchen.
"That's not going to happen," Haeger says. "Unless we could expand into the space next door, which I don't see happening in the near future. But you never know what the future will bring."
One-Way Café and Gallery, 1427 Underwood Ave., is currently open weekdays from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.; Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. But expect those hours to expand soon.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
