The Diplomat to open in former Bosley
Chef last worked for Bartolotta
A chef who has worked for Bartolotta and SURG restaurants will open his own restaurant, to be called the Diplomat, in what was Bosley on Brady this summer.
Dane Baldwin, who was the head chef at Mr. B’s steakhouse in Brookfield for about two years, left the Bartolotta restaurant in February to work on the Diplomat. The new Milwaukee restaurant, with a focus on regional dishes, is expected to open in July.
Baldwin comes to the Diplomat with broad experience. Before Mr. B’s, Baldwin worked at the SURG steakhouse Carnevor on N. Milwaukee St. and at other Bartolotta restaurants, including the lakefront seafood restaurant Harbor House and at the fine-dining Bacchus.
Baldwin also worked at places including Dancing Ganesha, the late, well-regarded Indian restaurant off Brady St., and got his start at Gil’s Cafe, the Downer Ave. spot that preceded Cafe Hollander. When he first began at Bacchus, he’d work there at night, at the Milwaukee Art Museum’s cafe in the morning and at Barossa, the former Walker’s Point restaurant, on his days off, he said.
Baldwin’s partner in the Diplomat is Joshua Jeffers, who bought Bosley and the building it was in at 815 E. Brady St. nearly a year ago from Michele Green.
Among other properties, Jeffers also owns the Mackie Building, the site of the ornate Grain Exchange. He turned the Mackie’s upper floors into apartments last year.
Jeffers said the hope is the Diplomat will appeal to customers who were Bosley patrons over the years but also to newer residents of the lower east side.
“The area has changed so drastically in the past five years,” Jeffers said, noting its attraction to millennials moving into the city. Jeffers also lives in the Brady St. neighborhood.
Jeffers said he wanted to make alterations to the restaurant and decided wholesale change was better. “It’s really hard to make small changes,” he said.
Remodeling of the Brady St. restaurant should start in the next month or so. Jeffers said the changes would be mostly cosmetic, such as flooring, lighting and fresh paint for what had been a Key West-themed restaurant for 11 years.
Meanwhile, Baldwin is starting to formulate the menu, which will include vegetarian dishes among the meats and fish.