Founded in Birmingham, Mich., in 1970, Olga's Kitchen today owns and operates 36 restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.
According to many sources it’s best known for its original Olga's sandwich – beef and lamb combined with onions, tomatoes, a secret "Olgasauce" and "wrapped in a secret recipe Olga Bread." It’s fast, fresh, casual dining spot that claims "the world’s freshest sandwich."
A recent Detroit News report cited an expansion for Olga’s. The report included a Milwaukee location.
Reporter Karen Dybis wrote, "Its Midwest expansion in the short term will include Chicago, Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio. Carpenter said he hopes to have sites signed and ready to build by year's end. The next stops will include Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Carpenter said there are no active deals for Michigan locations beyond the Detroit site."
Chad Oliver, Vice President of Marketing at Olga's, tells me that an exact Milwaukee location isn’t decided yet, but that the Milwaukee area is on Olga's radar "after the initial expansions in Chicago, Indianpolis and Columbus."
Under previous management, Olga's Kitchen had a location in Racine. "We like the corner of Main and Main concept in urban areas, and we intend to be in a great Milwaukee area," added Oliver.
I'll keep you updated as I learn more.
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.
