Milwaukee Street Restaurant Group today announced that partner Tom Wackman is no longer part of the group that now includes Mike Polaski and Omar Shaikh.
The duo has also changed the group's name to SURG Restaurant Group. Wackman, meanwhile, "will pursue other separate opportunities."
SURG owns Downtown restaurants and bars Carnevor, Umami Moto, Charro (which also has a Brookfield location), Mikey's, Nuovo Centanni and Distil, which is set to open soon at 722 N. Milwaukee St.
According to a press release, Shaikh is focused on Carnevor, Umami Moto and both Charro locations.
The release also notes that SURG will pursue opportunities outside Milwaukee in the future.
"I bring the operations experience and Mike brings the business structure, it's a strategic partnership that guarantees success in this industry," said Shaikh in the statement.
"Mike and I have a clear vision and mutual respect for each other," said Shaikh. "We're not in this just for a profit. We truly believe in creating memorable dining experiences, and keeping the bar set high in Milwaukee."
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
