By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor Published May 17, 2016 at 4:47 PM

The Vliet Street area in Washington Heights is seeing a resurgence in small food businesses. Most recently, we saw the opening of Wy'East Pizza. Now, a new pastry shop and cafe may be on the way.

The space which once housed Cafe Perrin (and more recently the short-lived small plates restaurant, Nourri) at 5901 W. Vliet St. may soon be the new home for Miss Molly's Cafe & Pastry Shop, a cafe and bakery business specializing in from-scratch desserts made with locally sourced ingredients.

Negotiations on the space were finalized this week, resulting in an accepted offer on the purchase of the building. Although financing for her business loan is still pending, Miss Molly's Pastries owner, Molly Sullivan, says she's secured substantial funding through Fund Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation and hopes to finalize details by late next week.

"I'm excited to be so close to fulfilling my dream to open my own space," notes Sullivan. "I've been holding out for a space in this neighborhood for a long time, and I'm really looking forward to establishing my cafe business in a location that's meant so much to me for so long."

Sullivan, who grew up in the Wauwatosa area, has worked as pastry chef for Braise Restaurant for the past four years. For just over a year, she has been seeking out a space in which to house commercial kitchen space for her growing catering business.

In addition to providing kitchen space, Sullivan says her plans include a cafe and retail space which would offer pastries, coffee and espresso drinks, and desserts, along with quick healthy breakfast and lunch options.

Sullivan has also launched a Kickstarter campaign to assist her in defraying some of her costs for the project. For more information, visit Kickstarter.com.

Also watch OnMilwaukee for additional details on plans for the shop as they become available.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor

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.