Comet Café, Fuel Café closing indefinitely
Comet Café and Fuel Café are closing indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic, the owners said Friday.
Comet at 1947 N. Farwell Ave. initially closed temporarily starting July 5. The restaurant said at the time it was to fix its ventilation system.
Comet employees said management has known about issues with the ventilation system for months and a few employees started refusing to work at the beginning of July.
Sunday will be the last day of carryout service at Fuel, 818 E. Center St., the restaurants said.
Comet and Fuel are owned by Mojofuco Restaurants. The group also owns Hi Hat Lounge, The Garage and Balzac on Brady Street.
All restaurants were forced to close or switch to to-go only models in March when state- and city-wide stay at home orders went into effect. Comet reopened for pickup and delivery April 21 and its dining room for limited service at the end of June. Fuel opened for pick up and carry out at the end of May.
“This decision was difficult, but necessary, as both restaurants have struggled to remain financially viable during the COVID-19 health crisis,” Co-owner Leslie Montemurro said in an email. “We are grateful to our customers for their loyalty and support over the years and for our staff who has always worked hard to make these restaurants a welcome gathering place in our communities.”
“Staff has been informed of the closures,” Montemurro said in the email. “We hope to resume operating at both locations at some time in the future when it is appropriate to do so.”
About two dozen Comet employees had signed a letter to management outlining demands earlier this week about improving safety precautions for the coronavirus pandemic and the venting system. A small group of Comet employees met with Montemurro and her coowner Scott Johnson Tuesday to discuss issues at the restaurant.
Bryan Bunce, who has worked at the restaurant for more than five years said the kitchen would routinely be between 110 and 120 degrees. Bunce said he had told management about issues with the ventilation system before the coronavirus pandemic forced the restaurant to close.
Bunce returned to the restaurant in late April. All employees were given incentive pay — $15 an hour plus tips.
When the dining room reopened, employees returned to the normal pay scale.
Bunce, a line cook at Comet, said Montemurro and Johnson seemed receptive to needed changes during the meeting.
“I wasn’t thinking that later in the week that they would be closing indefinitely,” Bunce said. Employees received a message Friday that the restaurants would be closed indefinitely.
Montemurro said the ownership team thought it would make the necessary repairs and reopen Comet.
“After we ran at the numbers for the work that needed to be done, we realized it just wasn’t feasible given the environment we are in,” she said. “The kitchen should be remodeled before reopening. This will take months. We wish this wasn’t the outcome, but for now, we feel the right decision is to close these two locations for the foreseeable future. We were simply losing money every day we were open.”
Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com /bemke.