After nearly four years, Bayou Restaurant & Lounge, the Cajun fusion restaurant and bar on the banks of the Milwaukee River at 2060 N. Humboldt Blvd., is closing. Its final day is Sunday, May 2.
Owners William and Robert Jenkins tell me "this is definitely not the last you will hear from us, but a lagging economy coupled with 21 months of bridge construction has taken its toll."
I interviewed Rob Jenkins last October and could easily sense the frustration over the lingering Humboldt Bridge project. Yet, as I noted in the interview, I've always enjoyed Bayou and give the Jenkins brothers a ton of credit for changing and adapting as the market and construction ebbed and flowed.
Couple the loss of their other business, Cush, in the fire that also destroyed Pizza Man, and it was time to move on.
"As good business people, all options have been reviewed, and tough decisions had to be made. As lifelong members of the Milwaukee community, we are committed to continuing to build businesses that provide good service and opportunity for employment for our fellow Milwaukeeans," Jenkins told me via e-mail.
I've heard a few rumors about another local restaurant owner taking over the liquor license at Bayou. However, this remains unconfirmed. Until then, you have one final weekend to enjoy Bayou.
Personally, I wish the Bayou owners all the best.
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.
