Diablos Rojos Restaurant Group blew the doors off Bay View last night with the grand opening of its fourth, and newest, casual restaurant meets fun and fantastic beer selection establishment, Café Centraal, 2306 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
In what was a complete renovation of the former 16th Street Community Health Center on Lincoln and Kinnickinnic Avenues, Café Centraal brings Bay View's largest dining room and an impressive Dutch and Belgian beer selection to this already happening corner of Bay View. Nearby neighbors include longstanding favorite Café Lulu and Riviera Maya.
Expect to see a menu similar to Downer Avenue's Café Hollander with the welcome addition of fresh mussels sold by the pound. Hollander's famous split pea soup makes an appearance, as well as frites for dipping, sandwiches, entrees, and weekend brunch. Fun, contemporary music pumps throughout, and the east end of the lengthy bar is smoking, the main entrance side, non, to accommodate all your preferences.
Café Centraal's mid garage door entrance will eventually open to an urban courtyard that may or may not make an appearance before the snow flies, but regardless, the interior space is warm and inviting, with tables made of wine crates and smatterings of fresh flowers. And for those of you with little ones, Centraal has coloring materials at the door.
Café Centraal opens weekdays at 11 a.m., weekends at 8 a.m.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
