As the world starts to re-open, some people are realizing they actually like working from home. It’s estimated only about a quarter of workers have returned to the office in Milwaukee.
Do any of you read what I write up here before getting into the news? LMK.
The big deals this week: Weddings are back this summer, Milwaukee Film Festival and what happened with U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman and a rap star.
Let s talk business
Milwaukee Tool s new downtown office is still in play. The City of Milwaukee s plan to give the company up to $20 million in financing for the new office passed through the Common Council s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee. Organized labor groups want the proposal to include a side agreement that sets wages, benefits and working conditions for janitors and other employees of outside vendors. Mayor Tom Barrett seems worried. He urged the council to approve the plan for an office with up to 2,000 employees. Pushing Milwaukee Tool away would be a serious mistake and a major disappointment, Barrett wrote in a letter. The full council is set to review the proposal next Tuesday.
The Soup House, a downtown fixture for more than 20 years, is in its last week of business.
It will be open Tuesday through Thursday, serving bowls of Buffalo chicken on Tuesday, a new barbecue chili on Wednesday and beer cheese chowder on Thursday, among others, and then close for good.
The restaurant, at 324 E. Michigan St., usually was busy with downtown workers at lunchtime. Many offices, however, continue to have their employees work from home because of the pandemic. Downtown is such a ghost town now, said co-owner Ruby Erickson, who noted that the weekday, lunchtime business and its location in the heart of downtown relied on having those office workers nearby.
It relied heavily on downtown office workers, a scarce commodity once the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020. The restaurant regularly operated only on Tuesday through Thursday with lunchtime service.
It will continue those hours for its final week. The Soup House will offer four house-made soups Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. Carryout and dine-in service are available.
Standard offerings of chicken and creamy tomato will be available on a rotating schedule, as will two new soups: BBQ chili (Wednesday only) and carrot coconut curry (Thursday). The popular buffalo chicken soup is available Tuesday.
You can order in-person or via phone, 414-277-7687. More information is available on The Soup House website.
The Soup House will close April 29 in Milwaukee after 21 years of business
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - After 21 years of business, The Soup House in downtown Milwaukee is closing its doors on Thursday, April 29. We are emptying our pots, setting down our ladles (and) closing the soup house door, The Soup House posted on Facebook on Sunday.
The Soup House will have a tight menu for its final days, which includes two new soups. We can t thank everyone enough for the insane amount of soup you all have eaten over the past 21 years, The Soup House said. We have had such a blast feeding you, clowning around, talking about current events, and best of all having customers become friends.