For years, Kristine Gomez-Delatorre, owner of Precious Marketing, has used her skills to provide low-cost marketing services for small local businesses. But soon, she hopes, she’ll be just as busy handling marketing for her own nascent business.
Precious Vibes is the name for the new sober lounge and eatery, which is slated to open in the former Pat’s Niche Pub & Grub at 3956 S. Howell Ave. (Pat’s closed in October). In fact, if all goes well, Gomez-Delatorre and her husband Ramez Shahin are hoping for an opening in January of 2023.
“We came up with the idea for this business back in 2018,” Gomez-Delatorre says, “And we’re so excited to finally be able to bring it to life.”
What to expect
The vision behind Precious Vibes is to create a non-alcoholic lounge, which caters to the college crowd, offering them a place to hang out, get their homework done and socialize during the evening hours.
“We’re taking the former bar and turning it into a fresh fruit and juice bar,” Gomez-Delatorre says, noting that they’ll serve a selection of fresh smoothies, juices and a selection of fresh fruits. “We’re trying to keep things as fresh and healthy as possible.”
“I’d love this to be a place where folks come and hang out and don’t feel the pressure to drink alcohol,” she adds, noting that they are hoping to add a selection of mocktails to the menu moving forward.
As for food offerings, the menu will be focused entirely on potatoes, which will be prepared with a variety of toppings, including halal meats (no pork). Options will include loaded baked potatoes, loaded French fries and creatively topped ‘tornado potatoes’ similar to the ones they serve at the State Fair.
“Both my husband and I love potatoes,” notes Gomez-Delatorre. “They’re so versatile; they can be prepared in so many ways… and they are affordable. Eating out at restaurants has gotten very expensive. So, our goal is to really keep costs down so that anyone – even college students – can afford to come and eat here. ”
Gomez-Delatorre, who graduated from Alverno College, says that she always wished that there had been more places to hang out near the campus, particularly spots that didn’t focus on coffee or alcohol. So, when the opportunity arose to open a place so close to the college, she says, she decided to make it happen herself.
She says she would also like to create a space that embraces creativity. So the restaurant will also have a small stage area where they can host poetry readings or spoken word performances. They might also offer hookahs during the evening hours, she says.
“I also want this to be a place where people can host small fundraisers,” she says. “We really want to be able to support the community and the creative things that students are doing.”
As for the name of the business, she admits it’s a bit of a spin on her marketing company. But it’s also very personal. Both were named for her three-year-old daughter, Ghalia, whose name means “precious” in Arabic.
As for the look and feel of the space, Gomez-Delatorre says they won’t be changing much about the bar, with the exception of rearranging things and probably giving the space a few new coats of paint.
“We’re purple people,” she says, “So folks can expect to see a lot of purple.”
Precious Vibes is expected to be open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
