In April of 2020, Black Shoe Hospitality (the group which operates Blue’s Egg, Maxie’s and Story Hill BKC) announced that they were closing Blue’s Egg in Shorewood, but that the restaurant would return as a new concept.  

Just over a year later, the name and concept have been revealed.  Buttermint Finer Dining and Cocktails, a retro-inspired dining concept, is slated to open in the Mosaic Building at 4195 N. Oakland Ave.

Co-owner Dan Sidner says the Milwaukee-area hospitality group is currently building their team of chefs and managers for the new venue and they will begin hiring for all positions after the Labor Day holiday with the hope that Buttermint can begin serving dinner Tuesday through Saturday as soon as November (with brunch on weekends to follow, as staffing and operations allow). However, the restaurant’s opening will be largely dependent upon the availability of high-quality hospitality professionals. 

“We may open with a combination of limited nights of service, and popup and private events, and build toward a full opening in 2022,” notes Sidner. “We are opening Buttermint during a historically difficult staffing environment. The last year has taught us to remain flexible.”

The finer things

“Our goal with Buttermint is to remind our guests why it's worth it to return to restaurants,” notes Sidner. “To celebrate dining out and enjoying professional hospitality in an orchestrated, upbeat environment. We felt that to revive the value of the dining experience we would be wise to return to when it all began and that was the early 1960s.”

As for the name, it hearkens back to the 60s-era tradition of mints delivered to guests when their checks are presented. And Buttermint will continue the tradition with a new-fangled twist.  “LSE’s” or “Little Something Extras will be included with each meal to make each dining experience distinctive and memorable.

Sidner says that describing the experience as “finer dining” as opposed to “fine dining” is intentional.

“It’s to remind ourselves that while we take our mission seriously, we should not take ourselves too seriously,” he says. “Our guests expect professionalism without attitude and that is what we intend to deliver.”

That said, Sidner indicates that Buttermint will be the most upscale concept of all the restaurants Black Shoe Hospitality has created, with a menu that morphs from more casual options on weekdays to more upscale dishes on the weekend.

“The plate presentation, quality of ingredients, and level of service is collectively more upscale than our previous restaurants,” he says, pointing to examples like the inclusion of a palate-cleansing intermezzo course at dinner. 

A blast from the past

Black Shoe Hospitality co-owner Chef Joe Muench is currently hard at work constructing a modern menu that takes inspiration from the early 1960s, an era which birthed the modern restaurants we know today. 

In keeping with the theme, Buttermint will also celebrate the 60s with Midcentury Modern decor, a focus on classic cocktails as part of the dining experience and a service style that honors the special nature of a night out. 

Meanwhile, co-owner and beverage director Jason Kerstein says the venue will offer a curated selection of beverages that are held in as high esteem as the plates served.

“It will be as much of a place to stop and have a drink as it is to dine,” he says, “And we hope it will be the place to be for the ‘North Shore Happy Hour.’”

That happy hour is expected to run Tuesday through Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. and will feature selections like the “North Shore Pour,” a larger pour of wine or a chaser for beer or craft cocktails.

Additional features at Buttermint will include a lounge area set against the roll-back windows along Olive Street as well as a prominent raw bar, which will serve not only a selection of fresh seafood, but a composed selection of seafood-based, vegetarian and chilled and cured meat dishes.

Buttermint will operate primarily on a reservation-only basis. However about 30 seats at the bar and in the lounge will be available daily for walk-ins. A small retail area will also feature a selection of beer, wine and spirits for purchase (a smaller version of the bottle shop at Story Hill BKC).

Next summer, the restaurant is also likely to add outdoor seating for approximately 30 guests.