New owners will take occupancy of Sven’s European Cafe at 624 N. Water St. beginning Aug. 1.
Hakan Sen, former manager at Trattoria di Carlo in Oak Creek, has purchased the cafe with partner, Berat Islami, business owner and finance and marketing professional.
According to Sen, the cafe will be renamed The Coffee Bean. Along with the new name, the cafe will be re-concepted to include a greater emphasis on local products.
"We will be serving coffee, as well as freshly made sandwiches and local bakery," says Sen. "We’ll be going a bit more fresh and farm-to-table in our approach, giving the customer the experience of sandwiches being made fresh to order."
Sen says they’ll be working with a local coffee roaster, and sourcing breads, meats and cheeses from local purveyors. They’ll also be rearranging the shop to pull the sandwich-making equipment within customers’ view.
The Coffee Bean is expected to be up and running by mid-August. Tentative hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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.
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