Silver City spark
South side restaurant carries big hopes for the redeveloping neighborhood
The opening of a small neighborhood diner isn’t something that typically grabs a lot of attention.
But plans by Leticia Munoz Hernandez to convert an empty, dilapidated building into a restaurant carry big hopes for the redeveloping Silver City neighborhood on Milwaukee’s near south side.
Munoz Hernandez, who owns Michael’s Family Restaurant, 2220 W. Wisconsin Ave., plans to open her second eatery by April at 3514 W. National Ave. It would give Silver City its only breakfast restaurant and also continue recent efforts to inject more life near the key intersection of W. National Ave. and S. 35th St.
The new restaurant’s name is Orenda — an Iroquois word for a mystical, spiritual energy.
“I see a great potential,” Munoz Hernandez said.
Orenda’s future home has been empty for roughly 10 years. It was last used by Sammy’s Silver City Cafe and still houses old kitchen equipment and restaurant supplies, including an oven, sinks and plates.
The two-story building, which includes an upstairs apartment, isn’t in great shape.
While the kitchen’s ventilation hood and some sinks might be salvageable, the building will need a new roof, floor, plumbing fixtures, electrical equipment, furnace and air conditioner, said Shannon Boone, director of real estate development at Layton Boulevard West Neighbors Inc.
“It’ll essentially be a new building,” said Boone, whose nonprofit neighborhood improvement group is buying the property and will lease the renovated restaurant space to Munoz Hernandez.
Layton Boulevard’s purchase of the city-owned building for $1,000 was approved Sept. 26 by the Common Council. The city acquired it in 2014 through a property tax foreclosure.
Among those supporting the plan are the Department of City Development and Ald. Bob Donovan, whose district includes the site.
“I think it would be great,” Donovan said.
Layton Boulevard estimates it will spend $428,000 renovating the 2,200-square-foot restaurant space and the upstairs three-bedroom apartment.
Zilber Family Foundation is providing half of those funds, Boone said. Other financing sources will include likely city grants, a Greater Milwaukee Foundation grant and a loan from Tri City National Bank.
Also, Munonz Hernandez estimates she will spend $150,000 to launch Orenda.
Officials at Layton Boulevard decided a year ago to buy the building, said Celia Benton, the group’s economic development manager.
The organization owns three other buildings on the block: the home of La Isla Restaurant, 3500-3504 W. National Ave.; the location of kitchen crafts maker Our Daily Salt, 3519 W. National Ave., which recently announced its closing; and a property at 3513-3515 W. National Ave. that is being marketed as a live-work site.
Benton said the block represents a catalytic project for Silver City, a neighborhood bordered by S. Layton Blvd., S. Miller Park Way, the Menomonee River and W. Greenfield Ave. The intersection of W. National Ave. and S. 35th St. is perhaps the neighborhood’s most visible and heavily traveled corner.
“We’re here in the heart of Silver City,” Benton said.
The name’s roots stem from the late 19th century. Workers at the nearby Menomonee Valley’s Milwaukee Road rail yard and shops, as well as other valley industries, spent their silver dollars in the neighborhood’s stores and taverns.
The Milwaukee Road’s 1977 bankruptcy and the demise of other heavy valley industries led to declining home values, as well as business closings in Silver City.
The Census tract that includes the planned restaurant site has an estimated median family income of just $24,312.
About half of the 3,300 residents of the tract, which includes much of the Silver City neighborhood, are living below the poverty line.
Starting in 2000, the city began focusing more attention on Silver City, including grants and low-interest loans to help hundreds of home owners make repairs.
Also, the Zilber Family Foundation in 2008 launched its Zilber Neighborhood Initiative. That 10-year campaign provides grants for improvements in central city Milwaukee areas that include Layton Boulevard West — which covers Silver City and other near south side neighborhoods.
Finally, the valley’s redevelopment, including the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center, has created more than 1,400 jobs since 2006.
The redevelopment includes the valley’s Three Bridges Park, which opened in 2013, as well as the 2010 reopening of the long-closed S. 37th St. pedestrian connection from the valley south to W. Pierce St.
Meanwhile, Layton Boulevard West and developer Bob Lemke in 2010 opened Silver City Townhomes, with 20 affordable apartments, at 3507 W. Pierce St.
The group in 2013 renovated around two dozen neighborhood houses and is renting them to families. Also, it provided a grant to help finance the new Velobahn Coffee & Cycle, which Seth Ogden and Rick Goyette recently opened at 3618 W. Pierce St.
Those developments, including the new Menomonee Valley businesses, are part of what gives Munoz Hernandez the confidence to invest in a neighborhood restaurant. She figures it can attract nearby employees as part of its lunch trade.
Also, Orenda, with both American and Mexican items, will help fill a void for breakfast options, as well as provide another lunch and dinner choice, for Silver City residents, Munoz Hernandez said.
“They need a restaurant,” said Munoz Hernandez, who worked at Michael’s Family Restaurant for around 10 years before buying that business in 2016.
A new restaurant can amount to a significant development for a neighborhood that needs more dining options, said Juli Kaufmann, who operates Fix Development.
That includes providing a place for people to gather, she said.
“It really helps fill a void,” said Kaufmann, whose Milwaukee firm last fall helped redevelop a long-closed tavern into The Tandem restaurant, in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood, at 1848 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
A restaurant can help attract additional investment by giving other business owners confidence in the neighborhood, she said. It also draws visitors to an area where they otherwise wouldn’t venture.
“A restaurant is a gateway opportunity,” Kaufmann said. “It gives people a reason to go to a neighborhood.”