In the early ’90s, Joe and Paul Bartolotta saw an opportunity. The two brothers, who grew up in Wauwatosa, had spent the first decade of their careers working in restaurants around the globe – Joe in New York, and Paul in Italy, France, New York and Chicago. When Joe moved back to Wisconsin to start a family, he called Paul – he thought Milwaukee was primed for a “big city-style” restaurant, and that the two of them should be the ones to make it happen.

“I was confident in my skills as a chef and operator, so I told him, “OK, let’s find a place,” Paul says. Joe went looking and soon discovered a small building on State Street in Wauwatosa, where a restaurant had recently closed. The brothers secured financing from Joe DeRosa, a Wisconsin restaurateur and businessman, who served as a mentor and friend to them both, and they started building their first restaurant.