The Third Ward of Aloha Pokē Co. will open its doors to the public on Monday, June 11.
The new fast casual restaurant, which specializes in customizeable Hawaiian-style poke bowls is located at 220 E. Buffalo St., just next door to Shake Shack.
The restaurant’s menu includes the guest’s choice of 8-ounce, 16-ounce and 24-ounce bowls, which can be customized to include mixed greens or brown or white rice.
From there, guests choose their protein: salmon, ahi tuna or tofu as well as toppings (rice seasoning, jalapenos, scallions, seaweed, cucumber, avocado, ginger, Maui onion, pineapple, tobiko or crunch) and an accompanying sauce (samurai, volcano, wasabi, spicy aioli, sesame oil, yuzu ranch or sesame vinaigrette).
Since its inception in 2016, the Chicago-based pokē has opened numerous locations in Illinois and launched aggressive expansion plans for markets including Southern California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida and Washington, D.C.
This will be the second pokē restaurant for the Historic Third Ward neighborhood, which welcomed a location for FreshFin Poke last year. An East Side location for Aloha Poke is also in the works.
Once open, Aloha Pokē Co.’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
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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