In recent weeks, Kitt's Frozen Custard, which opened in 1952, has been closed. Now, according to a post on the stand's Facebook page, it will reopen on March 1.
The stand, 7000 W. Capitol Dr., has been closed since early February, but it's unclear why.
On Wednesday, we reported that Ald. Cavalier Johnson, in whose district the custard stand is located, learned that Kitt's may be again serve custard and burgers in the coming days.
"I haven’t spoken directly to (them) but as I understand it, there is intention to reopen soon," Johnson told OnMilwaukee today, adding that the owners left a message with an aide in his office.
On Friday, this post appeared on Facebook:
Some customers noticed the business locked up tight since earlier this month and posted about it on social media. An afternoon visit early this week found the door locked and hand-written "closed" signs in the windows.
However, the phone remains in service (there is no outgoing message), and there were no posts to the Kitt’s Facebook page – which hadn't been updated recently ... until yesterday – nor updates to restaurant review sites like Yelp that said it is closed.
Though initially, Kitt's – which occupies a stand built in 1952 – might have been seasonal in its early days, closed in winter, it has been open year-round for as long as anyone can seem to remember.
On the other hand, one can see how a polar vortex and a few dozen inches of snow might prove troublesome for the owner of a frozen dessert stand.
Harry Kittredge – a former service station operator – and his son John opened Kitt’s Frozen Custard in 1952, its neon sign illuminating a landscape that was still largely unbuilt.
A building permit shows that like many Milwaukee custard stands, this one was opened with the assistance of Leon's owner Leon Schneider.
John ran the business himself beginning around 1960, and in 1979, his son Eugene took over the stand, which was beloved for its barbecue sandwiches, chili dogs and other food, too.
In 2000, the Kittredge family sold to Ray "Butch" Rydz, who has run Kitt’s ever since in the same vintage stand that has that classic frozen custard stand look and vibe.
Stay tuned and I'll continue to update this post as soon as possible.
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.
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