A dark restaurant on Monday evening led us to suspect that the newly minted Lombardi's Restaurant & Pizzeria, which opened Dec. 14 at 2301 S. Howell Ave., had closed up shop.
Verification from Ald.Tony Zielinski late this evening confirmed our suspicions. Lombardi's is, indeed, closed after a very short stint in the space that most recently housed Strada Pizza.
Strada occupied the space for approximately nine months, following two Mexican restaurants in the space: Mr. Webo's during 2014 and Guanajuato, the space's longest running tenant in recent years, which moved just two doors south to its current location at 2317 S. Howell Ave. after occupying the space for over five years.
Xel-ha, which rebranded to become Riviera Maya in 2006 and subsequently moved to its larger (and current) location at 2258 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., called the Howell Avenue location home from 2004 to 2006.
Zielinski says the building's owners are currently looking for a new business to occupy the space.
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 each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, 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.
