Potawatomi Hotel & Casino’s newest restaurant, Locavore, opens today in the new hotel at 1721 W Canal St.
The flashy-but-casual dining restaurant, located adjacent to the hotel lobby, features globally-inspired dishes prepared with local and sustainable foods.
"With this concept, we embrace the Native American values of the Potawatomi tribe and introduce modern approaches on some traditional cooking techniques and flavor profiles to Milwaukee," says Don Sally, Potawatomi food and beverage director.
Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, Locavore’s menu features small and large plates priced at $6-15 and $18-36, respectively. The emphasis will be on bold flavors made with locally grown produce, sustainable proteins and lesser-known native foods, such as tepary beans, paw paw, ground cherries and Shagbark syrup. Menu items will change according to the seasons and daily harvests.
The bar at Locavore will feature local and regional spirits and beers as well as house-aged cocktails. iPads store the restaurant's wine list, which is integrated with pairing recommendations and flavor profiles.
Potawatomi has named Van Luu, formerly of Prodigal Gastropub in Walker’s Point, as executive chef of Locavore, a position that not only oversees breakfast, lunch and dinner service, but also room service for the hotel.
Luu has spent 12 years cultivating his skills and learning different styles of cuisines while working at restaurants throughout the United States, including Charlie Trotter’s Restaurant in Chicago, as well as Restaurant Charlie in Las Vegas. Under his leadership the restaurant earned a one-star Michelin rating and numerous other awards. He spent several years working as sous chef and chef of Milwaukee’s Lake Park Bistro and Bacchus before helping to open Prodigal Gastropub in 2013
In addition, Yazmin Figueroa-Guzman has been named manager of the restaurant. Fiqueroa-Guzman has more than a decade of management experience, including opening five restaurants throughout her career.
Locavore is open for breakfast from 6 to 10:30 a.m. daily. Lunch is served each day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner service is from 5 to 10 p.m. daily. For more information or to make reservations, visit paysbig.com.
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.
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