Bavette La Boucherie will open in the Mequon Public Market, its second location

By Carol Deptolla

The latest Milwaukee business drawn to the new Mequon Public Market is a recent James Beard Award finalist and Top 30 restaurant: chef-owner Karen Bell's Bavette La Boucherie.

It will be a second location for Bavette, the hybrid butcher shop-restaurant in Milwaukee's Third Ward. The public market is being built at the Spur 16 development, 6300 W. Mequon Road.

Businesses previously announced for the market include the Mexican restaurant Cafe Corazón, Beans & Barley restaurant, Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. and Purple Door Ice Cream. Additionally, St. Paul Fish Co. will be in a separate building at Spur 16.

Jenny Vetter, director of operations at Spur 16 developer Shaffer Development, said the market's 10,000 square feet now are all spoken for.

The market will have about 10 tenants. The others will be announced in the coming months, said Cindy Shaffer, owner of Shaffer Development.

Bavette's new Mequon location will allow it to expand its offerings with the addition of a key piece of equipment.

"We are going to have a smoker there," Bell said in a written statement, "which will allow

us to diversify a lot of our retail products and menu items, including bacons, sausages, hot dogs, land jaegers, smoked briskets and shoulders. We will also have a larger grab-and-go selection than we do in the Third Ward."

The menu otherwise will be similar to that of the original restaurant's, she said.

Bell's parents, Nancy and Darryl Bell, live in Mequon and she noted, "It was our family dinners that helped inspire me.”

Bavette cuts its meat from whole animals raised by small producers. It sells cuts and fresh sausages it makes itself, as well as other items such as Wisconsin cheeses, cured sausages by other Wisconsin producers, jam and olive oil.

The restaurant serves salads, sandwiches, small plates and some main dishes on a changing menu, and pours wine, beer and cocktails.

Spur 16's commercial buildings are expected to open by the end of this year. Ten town homes are to be completed in January, and 146 apartments in three buildings are to be completed next spring and summer.

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