We got a peek inside the new 158-room Kimpton Journeyman Hotel, 310 E. Chicago St., slated to open in the Third Ward this summer, including looks at the spaces that will host the Tre Rivali restaurant and the rooftop Outsider bar.
With great views of the lake, the Downtown skyline, the Third Ward and beyond, The Outsider – which will be open all year long, thanks to a long row of firepits – will likely instantly become a major destination.
The eight-story hotel, developed by HKS Holdings LLC – the folks behind MKE Lofts, Global Water Center II and other projects – was designed by Milwaukee's Kahler Slater Architects.
1. First-floor awnings will come later and a vertical sign will be added this week
2. The main entrance sidewalk will slope down to the street
3. The lobby will have two fireplaces
4. Milwaukee artist Clive Promhows designed and executed the lobby floor stenciling
5. Two meeting rooms and a ballroom are on the second floor
6. A fully functional model room was built across the street
7. Soaking tubs and subway tile
8. The suites face southwest
9. The Kimpton Journeyman is pet-friendly
10. The interior bar at The Outsider on the roof
11. The Outsider
12. Another view of The Outsider
13. Chef Heather Terhune's Tre Rivali restaurant will open out to Broadway, with some cafe table seating outside
14. Diners can watch the action in the kitchen ... and vice versa
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.
