The executive chef at Buckley's in Milwaukee has plans for a new restaurant in West Allis

Less than three months after Ka-Bob's Bistro closed on Becher Street in West Allis, preliminary work is under way for a new restaurant proposed to open in its place.

Wild Roots, to be owned by Thi Cao, executive chef at the high-end Buckley’s Restaurant & Bar on Milwaukee downtown's east side, would open at 6807 W. Becher St.

"We're very excited to have him looking at our city. He's a well-thought of chef," said Shaun Mueller, West Allis community and economic development coordinator.

If all goes well, the restaurant with a bar could open at the end of January or early February, Mueller said.

However, between now and then, there are many hoops to jump through, including obtaining a $40,000 economic development startup loan from the city.

West Allis offers such loans to encourage development that brings jobs into the city, Mueller said. The economic loan development task force will start consideration of a loan Wednesday, Dec. 12.

American contemporary

At first, Wild Roots would be open for dinner, offering American contemporary cuisine. But eventually it will offer lunch, Cao said. 

"We'll also be available for Sunday brunch," he said.

If the restaurant will have any specialty or style it will be that of creativity, he said, combining flavors in new and interesting ways. A familiar dish could get a little twist that makes it a real standout, he said. Those flavor combinations will come from a background that pretty much encompasses the world.

"I'm Vietnamese, raised in America, I studied French cuisine and worked in restaurants in Spain and in Italian restaurants," he said. Cao also has gathered up experience in Chicago and California.

Chef's table

One of the many unique aspects he plans is having a chef's table where diners can become part of the creative excitement. While he creates new dishes, Cao plans to invite diners at the chef's table to have a taste and see what they think. Also, if he gets in a unique kind of mushroom, he'll invite the chef's table folks to try it, he said.

"It will be like going to grandma's kitchen," he said.

The menu will travel with the seasons and include some wild dishes as the restaurant's name hints, he said.

"You might find venison meatballs," for example, he said.

His partner will grow a significant amount of the produce for the Wild Roots tables in a huge 15-acre garden near Tigerton, Wisconsin. He also forages for mushrooms, fiddleheads and other edible wild things that will be bound for the Roots, Cao said.

Wild focus

The focus on the wild from game to edibles that grow all on their own is part of the genesis of the restaurant's name, he said. Wild also might apply to wild flavor combinations that could pop up occasionally, he said.

The "roots" in Wild Roots refers to the foundation of the cuisine and the bounty from the earth, he said.

All will be served in what Cao said he hopes will be a cozy, warm wooden barn atmosphere.

"I would love for people to not feel that they are in the city," he said. 

Not that he doesn't like West Allis. He moved to town two years ago and has been happily surprised at the people and neighborhoods he found.

"The people are hard-working and honest and I love to be part of it and introduce an aspect I know and love. It would be my contribution to the city," he said.