In February 2002, Omar Shaikh set out to challenge and change dining in Milwaukee with the creation of Sake Tumi, 714 N. Milwaukee St. On Tuesday, Shaikh left the business to focus on his other restaurant, Carnevor, 724 N. Milwaukee St.
Shaikh's aunt Sunook Lee has taken over the management of Sake Tumi after Shaikh's departure, which he says was amicable.
"I truly believe Sake Tumi has played a key role in the evolution of metro Milwaukee dining. I take pride in what we've accomplished, and wish nothing but continued success to the owners," Shaikh said.
Is he worried about leaving behind his first restaurant, his baby?
"I find this very exciting, and that was in-part the motivation for the recently opened Carnevor. Removing myself from the restaurant allows me to better focus on current and future challenges," he added.
Carnevor is a collaboration between Shaikh, Tom Wackman (Eve, Kenadee's, Tangerine) and Demetri Dimidropolus (Eve, Kendadee's, Tangerine) (Marc Bianchini of Cubanitas, Osteria del Mondo consulted on Carnevor) all of whom have had a hand in the reshaping of Milwaukee Street into a dining and entertainment destination.
Shaikh said two factors are key to continuing this growth.
"Hotels are great for the restaurant business, and while it's happening now more than ever, we'd really like to see more suburban diners (visiting Downtown)."
Although he said new restaurants seem "to be popping up everywhere," Shaikh said his ownership group is exploring new ventures and concepts.
"(New competition) makes your blood rush and drives you," he said. "There's no formal timeline (for another restaurant), but we are always looking to provide another innovative and quality dining experience."
He declined to be more specific about any future plans, adding "my team and I will remain very busy."
The Carnevor Web site is carnevor.com, and the Web site for Sake Tumi is sake-milwaukee.com.
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.
