Il Mito owner Michael Feker planning restaurant on Milwaukee's north side near Midtown

Restaurant operator Michael Feker plans to open a new eatery on Milwaukee's north side — which would bring a badly needed boost to that neighborhood. 

Feker's investment group, JAMI LLC, is seeking to buy a city-owned restaurant building at 5650 W. Fond du Lac Ave., according to a Common Council resolution.

That building, which once housed Szechuan Chinese Restaurant, is just north of Midtown Center, a half-empty shopping center. The city acquired the building through property tax foreclosure in 2015.

Feker operates Il Mito, a high-end Italian restaurant at 6913 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa.

He declined Thursday to provide information about his plans for the Fond du Lac Avenue building.

"I will discuss details at a later date," said Feker, who also operates 2Mesa Mexican Eatery.

Feker and his wife, Maricela, opened 2Mesa in March at 4110 W. Martin Drive, on Milwaukee's near west side.

The council resolution doesn't say how much Feker would pay for the building, which he plans to renovate.

That price, and other details, will be publicly disclosed before the resolution is reviewed by the Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee. That next committee meeting is scheduled for June 12.

Feker opened Il Mito in 2009. The restaurant is known for its Italian fare, and is in an area on Wauwatosa's east side that has seen several other restaurants open in recent years.

That's a contrast to the area near Midtown Center, bordered mainly by W. Capitol Drive, W. Fond du Lac Ave. and N. 60th St.

The shopping center's Walmart store closed in 2016, with other tenants also leaving.

Midtown's former Lowe's store is being converted to a distribution center.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.