ABV Social closes permanently at Tosa’s Mayfair Collection
ABV Social, the sports bar serving craft beer and pub dishes, has closed for good at the Mayfair Collection in Wauwatosa.
Its last day was Dec. 27. The restaurant was the last of four by Phoenix Hospitality Group to close at the retail and residential development, 11200 W. Burleigh St. They had opened in 2015 and 2016, initially managed by Bartolotta Restaurants.
Osgood's, a fast-food operation, was the first to close, in February 2020. French restaurant Cafe Grace closed a couple of months later; it was to be replaced with an Italian restaurant that didn't materialize during the pandemic.
Most recently, Taqueria El Jefe closed Nov. 27; the restaurant's social media posts said the closure was indefinite, but a sign at the door of ABV Social says ABV, Cafe Grace and the taqueria are closed permanently.
“It was a very competitive restaurant landscape even prepandemic,” said Brenton Schrader, vice president for retail leasing and marketing at HSA Commercial
Real Estate, which developed Mayfair Collection. Combined with occupancy limits and declining numbers of diners because of the coronavirus pandemic, it “became just too much to bear for the Phoenix Group,” he said.
Also affecting ABV Social was the upheaval in sporting events caused by the pandemic, he indicated. “This crisis is particularly problematic for businesses relying on people gathering in big groups,” Schrader said.
Another restaurant is in the works for ABV Social's portion of the building, Schrader said. HSA Commercial is expected to announce its new tenant — a local operator — within two weeks.
“At the end of the day, this is about creating a neighborhood and a community, and I think having local restaurateurs is essential to that goal,” Schrader said.
In addition, a Cajun seafood boil restaurant called Crafty Crab is in the works in the building that formerly housed Smoke Shack and AJ Bombers restaurant spaces. Those closed in summer; the original locations of Smoke Shack and AJ Bombers in Milwaukee remain open.