It's been reportedly a tough go for Downtown Milwaukee restaurants this week – but at least one local restaurant received a notable visitor this week, as Oprah Winfrey dropped by the Milwaukee Public Market.

The iconic media figure visited the popular Third Ward mainstay on Thursday – in particular Pat's Rib Place. According to the Milwaukee Public Market's Facebook page, Winfrey visited to show her support for the local barbecue restaurant, which is run by Alisha and Ty Hayes – her niece and nephew-in-law. 

Unfortunately, Oprah's visit was not all light-hearted local support; according to a statement from her spokesperson, Winfrey was in Milwaukee primarily for a family funeral. But we appreciate she made the time to give a local spot some spotlight during her time here.

Today isn't the first time Winfrey's given a tasty hat tip to Pat's Rib Place – which opened in the Milwaukee Public Market back in 2021. (The original Waukesha location closed last year after more than a decade in business.) The media superstar also shouted out their finger-licking work back in 2020, including Pat's Rib Place's barbecue sauces on her much-anticipated Favorite Things list for that holiday season.

While she may have been born in Kosciusko, Mississippi and made her name in Chicago, Winfrey still maintains a connection to Milwaukee, where she was raised during many of her formative years. In recent years, she shouted out the city that helped raise her during her powerful lifetime achievement award speech at the Golden Globes back in 2018, just a month after dropping into Brew City to celebrate her half-sister's graduation from UW-Milwaukee. 

To get a taste of Pat's Rib Place for yourself, check out the barbecue restaurant at the Milwaukee Public Market and check out their website for more info. And while you may not be a globally famous media figure, you can help support the Milwaukee restaurants you love too – here are some ways how!