Mason Street Grill to be remodeled

Restaurant will close for about 3 weeks

Mason Street Grill will undergo a major remodeling starting this weekend, with the popular downtown Milwaukee restaurant to close for about three weeks during the project.

Mason Street Grill, known for its steaks and seafood, will be temporarily closed beginning Sunday. It will reopen to the public on Feb. 9, said Susan Terry, vice president of culinary and food & beverage operations at Marcus Hotels & Resorts Inc.

The restaurant opened in December 2006 at 425 E. Mason St., within the same building that houses the Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave. Both businesses are operated by Marcus Corp., which includes Marcus Hotels among its operations.

Restaurants often undergo remodeling after seven to 10 years, Terry said.

“It was time for us to do a head-to-toe remodeling of the space,” she said.

The work will include replacing the flooring with new wooden floors, restoring all chairs and seating with a warm, dark brown leather, and giving the wine display a new design.

The chef’s counter will be broken into two separate chef’s counters, with up to eight seats apiece, featuring an interactive menu offering seasonal dishes several days of the week, Terry said.

“We’re allowing our chef to break through the Mason Street constraints at the counter,” she said. “It’s kind of like the chef’s playground.”

Also, Linda Marcus, a local artist and wife of Greg Marcus, Marcus Corp. president and chief executive officer, will be curating new artwork to be displayed throughout the restaurant.

There also will be expanded beverage offerings, including new wine selections showcasing regional wine varieties and select whiskey and bourbon options.

Mason Street Grill in November named Ramsés Alvaréz as its new executive chef.

A 15-year veteran of Milwaukee-area restaurants, Alvaréz previously was corporate chef for Water Street Brewery and designed the menu for Vagabond, the restaurant that replaced Rudy’s Mexican Cantina downtown. Among other positions, he was the opening chef at Juniper 61 in Wauwatosa and was chef de cuisine at La Merenda. He has also worked at Lake Park Bistro and Sanford.