Brady St. getting a new restaurant

The former Cempazuchi space on Brady St. won’t be empty much longer. The owners of C-viche in Bay View plan to open Kompali, a taqueria and bar serving mezcal and tequila.

Kompali means compadres or friends in Nahuatl, an indigenous Mexican dialect; the name refers to owners Karlos Soriano and Paco Villar.

“We just couldn’t say no to a great opportunity to be on Brady Street,” Soriano said. Cempazuchi, the longtime regional-Mexican restaurant, closed in January at 1205 E. Brady St.

Kompali could open as soon as late September, after the dining room is remodeled. The 16-seat bar will be updated, the walls painted and artwork hung. A small lounge will be on one side of the restaurant and a dining area on the other where families can feel comfortable, Soriano said.

Soriano said the restaurant will sell traditional and modern tacos ranging from $2 to $4 for items such as braised lamb. The modern tacos will incorporate international dishes, such as Peru’s lomo saltado.

“Don’t be surprised if we come out with a Jamaican taco,” Soriano said.

The menu will have rice and beans a la carte, and it will list some shareable appetizers, such as guacamole and esquites, the corn salad.

Traditional tacos will be served on house-made, blue-corn tortillas; the modern tacos will be served on regular corn tortillas. The restaurant won’t have flour tortillas.

The idea for Kompali grew out of Taco Tuesdays at C-viche, Soriano said. “It’s one of our busiest days,” he said, when the restaurant serves scallop, shrimp and fish tacos, along with tacos such as Argentine-style steak marinated in chimichurri. Those will be on the menu at Kompali, as well.

Recipes for dishes such as beans, tripe and tongue will be based on recipes from Villar’s family, Soriano said.

The bar will make mezcal and tequila cocktails, including some crafted with dry ice or served on ice balls, Villar said. Cocktails might include smoky mezcal with the aperitif Aperol, and mezcal old-fashioneds.

Customers also will be able to try mezcal by the flight, Villar said.

Kompali is expected to be open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight. The kitchen would stay open until the bar closes.

“We don’t want to deny tacos to anybody,” Soriano said.

Sunday brunch, with a menu of Mexican dishes is expected to start a few months after the opening.

Soriano and Villar credited building owner Julilly Kohler with helping to get the new restaurant rolling.

“She was so supportive of the idea,” Soriano said.

Bar Centro, Riverwest

The owners of the Italian restaurant Centro in Riverwest are opening a bar in the building next door.

Called Bar Centro, it could open as soon as October at 804 E. Center St.

Owners Peg Karpfinger and Patrick Moore opened Centro, at 808 E. Center St., in 2009. They own the buildings as well as the businesses.

The bar would be open Thursday through Saturday, at least at first, to serve mainly as a waiting area for Centro diners. The popular little restaurant doesn’t take reservations.

“We feel like there’s a demand in the neighborhood to accommodate more people on Friday and Saturday nights especially,” Karpfinger said.

Karpfinger said customers would be able to put in their names at Bar Centro for tables and wait until one opens.

On other days, the bar could be the site of private events. Karpfinger said Centro’s wine classes, wine dinners and other events will be held there.

Food for special events would come from Centro. The bar won’t have regular dining.

Karpfinger said the bar will be based on one she and Moore visited five years ago in Spain. Bar Centro’s design will be similar to Centro and to Old World bars, she said, but with modern touches.

“That’s what I love about places in Europe, they’re old and modern at the same time,” Karpfinger said.

The drink list at Bar Centro will mirror the restaurant’s, including the Italian-inspired cocktails (except possibly more using amari will be added) and the all-Italian wine list.

The building is the former site of People’s Books Co-op, which closed in 2016.