SHOP TALK

Ashley's, a longtime Milwaukee barbecue restaurant, will open outlet in old Pabst complex

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ashley's Que Grill & Bistro will open within the next two weeks at the food court in the Eleven25 at Pabst apartment building, 1125 N. 9th St.

The owners of Ashley’s, a Milwaukee barbecue restaurant operation dating to 1961, plan to open a new outlet in the redeveloped Pabst brewery complex.

Ashley’s Que Grill & Bistro is expected to open within two weeks at the food court in the Eleven25 at Pabst apartment building, 1125 N. 9^th St. It will join four other restaurants in the food court, occupying the unit formerly used by Upper Crust Pizza.

Ashley’s will serve barbecue sandwiches and dinners, but the focus will be on a daily soul food buffet, Jazzmon Hughes, one of the owners, said Thursday. Among the likely rotating items in the $12.49 buffet: smothered pork chops, fried chicken, specialty mac ‘n cheese, homemade mashed potatoes, pulled pork and collard greens.

Hughes’ grandfather, Thomas Ashley Jr., left his job at A.O. Smith Corp. to start Ashley’s in 1961 with $350 borrowed from friends. Originally located in the old Center Street Haymarket, a farmer’s market at 3032 W. Center St., Ashley moved three years later to 1501 W. Center St.

Ashley’s Bar-B-Que has been there ever since.

A second outlet, Ashley’s Que, opened in 2012 at 124 W. National Ave. in Walker's Point. That restaurant was heavily damaged by fire in February. It remains closed, though Hughes said he and his father, Darnell Ashley, hope to re-open.

Eleven25 at Pabst, located in the brewery’s former bottling house, markets its apartments to students. The building is one of many that have been carved out of the old Pabst complex on the northwest edge of downtown.

The redevelopment is continuing, and by 2019 the 21-acre site is expected to be home to more than 800 apartments, two hotels and three office buildings, plus restaurants, taverns and even two small parks.

Besides Ashley’s, restaurants in the Eleven25 food court include The Gouda Girls, Huan Xi Express, Meat on the Street and Tokyo Express & Bread House.