UPDATE -- Jan. 19. 2010. The space will re-open with new owners. Possible tie in with Edelweiss. More information to come soon.
On Dec. 9, several people told me that Byron's Beer Garden and Bistro, 106 W. Wells St., was closed.
I got confirmation from a few sources and stopped by myself to see no closed sign, but several old beer bottles and dirty tables at the bar/restaurant.
On Dec. 10, I posted an item that noted the bar/restaurant was closed. Indeed, it was and hadn't been open since Dec. 9. On that same night, the owner, John Chitko, stated on Twitter that the establishment was closed for "only one week."
I revised and removed the article while I waited for additional information from Chitko.
Today, nearly three weeks after my original post, Byron's remains closed and I haven't heard back (despite several attempts) from the owner or his brother.
The bar and restaurant opened as Yaffa in December 2005, and changed to its more casual format in February 2009. I've always liked the space, especially the patio. But, I do know that the one-way Wells Street is a tricky one for businesses and, obviously, it hasn't been a great year to operate, given the economic conditions.
I'll continue to monitor this story, but in the meantime, it's noteworthy that the location is still closed.
The landlord of the space told me that Byron's is still paying rent but does "want out" of the location. I've also heard that he could be looking for a tenant to fill Byron's and the space next to it that formerly housed Butch's Clock Steak House.
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.
