The Part of the East Side That's Already Open Is a Former Street

By October, several of the East Side openings announced this summer have arrived late, moved or not arrived yet. The food hall at 2238 N. Farwell Ave. now houses a small bar in one corner. The Italian restaurant that was supposed to fill that hall signed a lease down the block instead. A coffee shop that was aiming for August is still a construction site.

Ivanhoe Plaza is the one part of the block that has run on schedule. It's a stretch of Ivanhoe Place that has been closed to cars since 2023, and it's where most of the neighborhood's October calendar takes place.

A street the city planned to give up years ago

The plaza looks like a recent experiment, but the idea is older. The East Side Business Improvement District says the City of Milwaukee approved the Ivanhoe Plaza concept in its 2009 Northeast Area Plan. Ivanhoe Place became interim pedestrian space in 2023 and has since been judged non-essential for car traffic. The BID also points to other planning work the plaza fits into: its own 2015 Market and Redevelopment Study, the city's 2018 Complete Streets Policy and a 2022 Gather Places Feasibility Study.

In a September 30 update marking executive director Ryan's second year, the BID said the plaza had hosted markets, music and community events over the past year. It described a temporary project becoming "part of the everyday rhythm of the East Side." The same update listed the free events that brought people to the neighborhood this year: Summer Soulstice Music Festival, the Rolling Bike Party, East Side Gallery Night, Black Cat Alley After Dark and Doors Open Mural Fest.

Black Cat Alley, right next to the plaza, gives the space its art. According to the alley's own site, it was developed in 2015 and 2016 by community members, artists, Wallpapered City and the East Side BID. The BID still manages it, and it now has 21 murals by 24 artists.

The neighborhood has had this outdoor room for three years, and the businesses around it are still rearranging themselves.

Where each storefront actually stands

Announced opening dates on this block have slipped all summer. As of early October, here's where each one stands, based on the businesses' own pages and local reporting.

• Star Bar, 2011 E. Ivanhoe Pl.: open. This astrology-themed bar is owned by New Land Enterprises, which also owns the former Crossroads Collective building. OnMilwaukee reported a soft opening ahead of a public opening on Thursday, Aug. 13. Milwaukee Record put its size at about 700 square feet of the former food hall. Its site lists Monday "SIN Nights" and a 4 to 7 p.m. weekday happy hour, and points to Facebook for the full, changing event list.
• Nadi Plates, 2163 N. Farwell Ave.: coming. In April 2025, Nadi Plates announced plans to take over a large part of the former Crossroads Collective. In June, OnMilwaukee reported that the family had "amicably parted ways" with New Land Enterprises. They signed a lease on June 10 for the former Pomona Cider Co. space, which closed in December 2025. Austin Santaniello told OnMilwaukee that the new location will still offer daytime and nighttime service. A September 17 Visit Milwaukee release lists an October target and describes the menu as modern takes on scratch-made Italian classics.
• Street Coffee Collective, 2008 N. Farwell Ave.: under construction. The Journal Sentinel reported in July that founders Hannah "Fish" Staple and Kamren Starkey were working to open "by August." Their own cafe page now says the space is still under construction and no opening date has been set. The planned menu includes espresso drinks, a rotating seasonal menu, and teas including SPORTea, matcha and hojicha.
• The rest of 2238 N. Farwell Ave.: no public plan. Shepherd Express reported in late August that Star Bar opened in one part of the space after Nadi Plates chose not to move in. No plans for the rest of the former food hall have been announced.

A few blocks away on Brady Street, Underground Tavern at 1239 E. Brady St. closes on Oct. 8. It's the bar that opened as WurstBar in 2021 and was renamed only about eight months ago. Urban Milwaukee reports $4 drinks all day through closing.

So the block has one new bar open, a restaurant and a cafe still on the way, and most of a large food hall still empty. Ivanhoe Plaza is where people gather in the meantime.

October, mostly outdoors on the plaza

The East Side BID's fall calendar shows how much of the neighborhood's October takes place on the plaza and in the alley. The Cream Fresh Vintage Market Series, hosted by Jungle Gems, was at Ivanhoe Plaza on Saturday, Oct. 3. The BID describes it as a series running "all season long." Here's what's left this month and next:

1. Thursday, Oct. 8. Last day at Underground Tavern on Brady Street.
2. Oct. 10 through 31. The Oriental Theatre screens The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with live shadowcast performances by Sensual Daydreams.
3. Sunday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The MilwaukeeGirlies Fall Flee brings local vendors to Ivanhoe Plaza. It follows the group's earlier Girlies Garage Sale on the East Side.
4. Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. Amorphic Beer's Three Minute Thesis 2026 All-Stars at the Oriental, with beer served in the theater.
5. Thursday, Oct. 15, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A Jazz Age Murder Mystery Dinner at Vier North. Tickets are $75, and 1920s attire is encouraged.
6. Saturday, Oct. 24. House & Espresso presents Black Cat Alley After Dark: Yacht Week Experience across the alley and the plaza. Details follow below.
7. Throughout October. The BID's Halloween Contest runs at participating businesses, with costume prizes and specials.
8. Saturday, Nov. 28. East Side Small Biz Saturday.

What Oct. 24 actually involves

Yacht Week is the biggest event of the fall, and it uses the plaza more fully than anything else on the calendar. It's a stop on Yacht Week's global Onshore Tour. The day starts with a community 5K run with City Limits Run Club and Uncommon Run Club, followed by outdoor yoga among the murals. The afternoon and evening bring five DJs, free saunas and cold plunges, local vendors across Ivanhoe Plaza, fire pits after dark and a Halloween costume contest. Admission is free, all ages are welcome and the dress code is "Old Money." Visit Milwaukee's listing includes Star Bar as one of the stops.

The listings don't agree on the start time. The BID says 4 p.m., Visit Milwaukee says 3:30 p.m., and both say it ends at 10 p.m. If you're running the 5K, check the East Side BID's Happenings page close to the date.

What a permanent plaza would add

The BID wants to rebuild the space that's been carrying this fall. This year it launched the Ivanhoe Plaza fundraising project with Korb Architecture to turn the temporary plaza into a permanent community space. The published plan includes a permanent concrete plaza, seating and landscaping, shade, better accessibility and built-in infrastructure for performances and events. It also names three signature features: the Leaf Canopy, a Community Stage and a Flex Park.

That's a different kind of investment from the storefront changes on the block. Each restaurant and cafe depends on its own lease, build-out and schedule, as Nadi Plates' move and Street Coffee's delay both show. The plaza is shared ground that has been closed to cars since 2023 and spent the past year hosting markets, music and community events. The permanent plan would add shade, a stage and better accessibility. The BID's project page sets a $1.75 million fundraising goal. Neither that page nor the September update gives a construction date. Details and ways to contribute are on the Ivanhoe Plaza project site.

For now, the next event on the plaza is the Fall Flee on Oct. 11.

At Shar Borg, we follow the East Side at the block level, down to which storefronts are open, which have moved down Farwell and which are still under construction. If you'd like that view of your own corner of the neighborhood, request a complimentary concierge consultation.