Juniper 61 closes, and the restaurant replacing it gets a name
Juniper 61 in Wauwatosa served its final meal on Sunday, as its owners shift their focus to their remaining restaurant, Lulu in Milwaukee.
In June, plans for the closing became known when a proposal for a new restaurant at Juniper's address was made public.
Juniper owners subsequently said they were closing the restaurant they opened in 2008 for personal reasons and selling the building to new owners.
"Since we have never been 'hands-off' owners, we just don't feel good about continuing on, doing half the job due to the emotional and physical challenges we've faced recently," Cameryne Roberts and Sarah Jonas wrote in a message to customers in early July.
Meanwhile, the Italian restaurant and pasta shop that will take Juniper's place at 6030 W. North Ave. now has a name.
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Sarah Baker, who is opening the restaurant with her husband, chef Zak Baker, said it will be called Ca' Lucchenzo (pronounced lou-KEN-zo).
"Ca means 'house of' and Lucchenzo is our dogs' names, Luca and Enzo," she said. Luca will be 12, and Enzo is 10; both were adopted from the Wisconsin Humane Society.
To open their restaurant, the Bakers will be leaving Pizza Man, where they are the operating partners and he is executive chef.
Before joining Pizza Man, Zak Baker was chef de cuisine of Lake Park Bistro and, before that, sous chef at Ristorante Bartolotta in Wauwatosa for five years. Sarah Baker was general manager of c.1880.
Their new restaurant will serve pasta and also sell fresh pasta to take home to cook. Also on the menu: appetizers, soups, salads and the Italian sandwich spianate, a griddled flatbread.
Italian wines and cocktails will be poured at the bar, along with other drinks.
Ca' Lucchenzo is projected to open at year's end at the earliest.