Since the Fonz was bronzed and placed on the Riverwalk Downtown, the vacant space around it and building in front of it -- in all of their emptiness -- stand out like sore and somewhat dilapidated thumb.
I say it's time to find a suitable Riverwalk restaurant tenant for the building west of the one that once housed Wells Street Station and Tula's and now leases a part of its space to China Gourmet. It's also high time to make the Riverwalk accessible on that stretch as the stairs behind the Fonz make it impossible for wheelchairs and strollers to access the bronzed one.
Anyway, back to the building. It's owned by TIC Management Company and run by Gary Taxman. Taxman agrees with my desire. He wrote this in an e-mail when I inquired about his company's plans for the building:
"I received your inquiry regarding our property on Wells Street and the new Fonzie statue that is located on our portion of the Riverwalk. The interest in the statue has not subsided since the unveiling event. I have seen many local residents and visitors stop to have their pictures taken with "The Fonz." He has international appeal as well, as I've seen an Italian family and others pose with the statue. The statue certainly has been a focal point and possibly a destination for the Riverwalk pedestrians."
Regarding plans for his vacant spaces, Taxman, director of property management for TIC Management Company, wrote:
"Even though China Gourmet is now leasing in the former Tula's (Wells Street Station) location, we are still actively attempting to lease the 12,000 sq. ft. two-story building next to China Gourmet.
"The covered wooden deck behind the two story building and the Riverwalk deck would be available to the next tenant. We have spoken to several interested parties as there has been interest in leasing the building or tearing it down to develop a freestanding restaurant.
"Given the statue location and interest in the 'Happy Days' nostalgia, I would think the location would be a natural for a burger, fries and a shake (or custard) type of restaurant. Perhaps an 'of the period' diner would also be appealing to tourists and local residents for breakfast, lunch or dinner," he concluded.
Right on, I say. An old-school diner, a Kopp's-like place, a Culver's or even a Chancery-type restaurant would do well there, I believe.
There are several "Happy Days" diner concepts in the country and according to Dave Fantle at Visit Milwaukee, "if someone wanted to call it, for example, 'The Happy Days Diner,' that would be very doable."
A source at CBS said there would be a license fee for rights to use the name and show elements and normally, that amounts to a percentage of revenue.
So, what do you want to see by the Bronze Fonz? Use the talkback feature and sound off. Ayyyyy.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
