James Beard Award finalist Justin Carlisle will open a pair of restaurants in the Urbanite, slated to open in September at 1840 N. Farwell Ave.
The location – a 13-story modern glass tower developed by New Land Enterprises (for which the top floor concrete has now been poured) – is across the street from Carlisle's Ardent and Red Light Ramen restaurants.
Carlisle has 3,000 square feet of ground floor space, which he will use for both concepts.
The Duke – which pays tribute to Carlisle's dad – will be a grab-and-go place, and Purlieu (which means "neighborhood") will offer casual sit-down dining.
Carlisle's connection to the Urbanite had been previously reported, but details of the restaurants are just emerging now.
According to New Land's Tim Gokhman, the lobby will also include a cafe.
"The lobby will offer lounge seating and direct access to enjoy Justin’s creations, along with space for a coffee shop, which will be open to the public," said Gokhman, "a design and level of amenities you’d expect to see in a Chicago high rise.
"Unlike Prospect Avenue, which for the most part doesn’t feature mixed-use buildings, Farwell is more about the street level."
The pet-friendly apartment building – which has a green roof atop a four-story wing – has 153 units with studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, many with lake views and all with luxury finishes, according to Gokhman.
Those finishes include floor-to-ceiling windows, wood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, designer plumbing fixtures and balconies.
Other amenities for residents include a fourth-floor terrace and club house, heated indoor parking and a fitness center with a massage studio and guest suite.
"We are ideally positioned with lake and city views and a great urban neighborhood, complete with shops, dining, entertainment and transportation," says Gokhman, who is moving New Land's offices onto the second floor of the building.
The building was designed by Kindness Architects, which was acquired by Eppstein Uhen Architects in 2016. Here are a few more looks at the project, now and in the future:
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.