After years in the works, Simple Cafe, 2124 N. Farwell Ave., opened last week. Owners Tom Hartz and Young Cho have a cafe and bakery in Lake Geneva, also called Simple Cafe.
Hartz says he and Young searched from "San Diego to Boston" to find the right location for a second cafe and decided on Milwaukee's East Side.
Open for breakfast and lunch, Simple's menu features a variety of dishes, most of which are made with locally-sourced ingredients. Options range from Korean pancakes to turkey, bacon and Brussels sprouts hash to grilled chicken and goat cheese sandwich.
We had an exceptionally good portobello mushroom sandwich topped with goat cheese served on a ciabatta and a winter salad made with tofu, quinoa, dried cranberries, smoked bacon, toasted pumpkin seeds and cucumber tossed in an incredibly light but flavorful dressing.
Everything on the menu is under $10.
The environment is colorful and upbeat, with brightly-colored walls and chairs. The light fixtures are made from recycled pots and pans and there are fresh flowers on the tables.
"For Young and I, the decor is a loose metaphor of a farm. For other people, it's just pleasant and colorful," says Hartz. "We're about people. We believe that if we show people they are appreciated they will show this to others in their life."
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
