Radio Milwaukee reveals the name of its new cafe and what's on the menu
The cafe opening at Radio Milwaukee in Walker's Point next year will be called Deadwax — named after a very specific part of a vinyl album — where the food and drink menu will change often, sometimes daily.
The radio station, more formally known as WYMS-FM (88.9), revealed the cafe's name at a community reception Wednesday. In October, it announced a $770,000 expansion of its building at 220 E. Pittsburgh Ave. to add the restaurant on the first floor; its studios are on the second floor.
The term deadwax refers to the vinyl that's after the grooves of the last song, before the label.
“It’s the space in between, which is exactly what we want this space to be for our community.” said Kevin Sucher, Radio Milwaukee's executive director.
He noted in the announcement that the station is calling Deadwax a sound cafe "because the vibrations of music and community connection will be the soundtrack for the experience.” The cafe, he said, is meant to reinforce the station's mission of inclusion and engagement.
To that end, chef Chad Meier said he wants to keep the cafe and its offerings fluid.
"It's not just my restaurant ... it's a community platform for the food and beverage of Milwaukee," he said.
That includes carrying products by local vendors, using ingredients from area producers and having pop-ups by established and emerging Milwaukee chefs to showcase their cooking, whether it's taking over the kitchen for a night or more at the all-day counter-service cafe, or having a seated event for a plated dinner.
"This collaboration with Radio Milwaukee really allows me to break all the boundaries of what a restaurant is or has to be," said Meier. His previous restaurant, Meraki, was on the Journal Sentinel's Top 30 list and was known for its seasonal dishes made with local ingredients.
The cafe will start the day with breakfast items such as Scotch eggs, wraps and toast. At lunch, it will have soups, sandwiches and lunch boxes, a version of bento boxes that contain a protein, starch and salad. The lunch box, riffing off the station's "Sound Travels" feature, might be something like goulash, or mac and cheese, for example. "You can get it super fast and take it with you or eat it here," Meier said.
He's also planning to have changing savory pastries — such as samosas, pasties and hand pies and "things on sticks" — meatballs, kebabs, teriyaki.
The cafe would have frozen empanadas and pizzas made by Milwaukee businesses on hand, for when the kitchen has closed but the bar is open, so patrons still can have a bite.
Grab-and-go shelves will hold items such as salads, musubi (the Spam-rice-nori bite found in Hawaii) and snacks both international and local, from Swedish fish to Milwaukee-made potato chips — items that might inspire someone to say, "Oh, that looks good; I've never had that before," and try it, Meier said.
The marketplace area of the cafe might also have items such as T-shirts or pottery by Milwaukee artists, Meier said, to provide another outlet for local makers.
The cafe will serve beer, wine and spirits, and its coffees will come from Interval, the roaster on the lower east side, or from other roasters selected by Interval owner Ryan Hoban.
In addition to expanding the restaurant space, which formerly housed a Stone Creek Coffee cafe, the project at Radio Milwaukee is adding a kitchen, creating covered outdoor seating and installing three garage doors.
Deadwax will post updates at @deadwaxmke on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Contact dining critic Carol Deptolla at carol.deptolla@jrn.com or (414) 224-2841, or through the Journal Sentinel Food & Home page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter at @mkediner or Instagram at @mke_diner.