A much discussed property north of downtown Waukesha's riverfront could soon have a new tenant.
Mad Rooster Cafe is proposing to move into the former Hardees restaurant, which closed in late 2013, at 130 NW Barstow St. and heavily modify the building.
According to plans submitted by Kueny Architects, Mad Rooster Cafe is scheduled to come before the city's plan commission on March 9.
The owners of the cafe are considering two additions to the building — 1,200 square feet to the east for the entrance and another 1,600 square feet to the north for additional seating.
On the menu
Mad Rooster Cafe already operates a restaurant at 4401 W. Greenfield Ave., along Miller Park Way, in West Milwaukee. It opened in 2013. That cafe, which has a country theme, is open for breakfast and lunch daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A majority of the food items, according to its menu, are breakfast-related. Items include an omelet selection, eggs Benedict options, pancakes, and Mad Rooster originals such as the crispy-crunchy cinnamon French toast, morning tacos, chilaquiles, chicken chorizo and eggs, and three pigs in a blanket.
The cafe also offers waffle plates, sandwiches (including the popular breakfast burger) and hand-tossed salads. It also makes its own Greek yogurt.
Mostly unused properties
The vacant restaurant is part of a six-plus acre collection of properties, between Waukesha State Bank and Barstow Street and across from the city's transit center on St. Paul Avenue, that have become a de facto-parking lot over the last several years.
Besides the Hardees that operated along Barstow for decades until 2013, the neighboring parcels include a site that, most recently, was an antique mall until the building was demolished in late 2014.
The entire group of properties was one of the topics of discussion during the 2014 mayoral race. Former Mayor Jeff Scrima's proposed convention center idea never materialized.
Mayor Shawn Reilly, who beat Scrima in the 2014 spring election, said during the mayoral race he wanted to work with the four property owners who each own segments of the land, to build an anchor there.
So far, only the Mad Rooster proposal has materialized. The landlord for the property is Berg Management, owned by the Huelsman family.