By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Jan 09, 2015 at 2:24 PM

Starting in mid-March, The National, 839 W. National Ave., will be open for dinner, according to owner Nell Benton.

Thi Cao, who is currently the chef at Buckley’s, 801 N. Cass St., will soon move to The National to work with Benton. The two are also life partners who got engaged in November.

Benton describes the new dinner menu as "nouveau American."

"It will represent both of our backgrounds," says Benton. "Thi is from Asia and I worked in Asia. We are both trained in classical French and have worked in a variety of different restaurants in different parts of the country."

Dinners will be served Tuesday through Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m. The cafe will also remain open daily for breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"I feel like this part of the Walker’s Point neighborhood – west of I-94 – is ready for growth," says Benton. "And it’s the right time for both Thi and me."

Stay tuned to OnMilwaukee.com for the exact date that dinner service at The National will begin.


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.