A new American, Greek and Mediterranean restaurant is open in downtown Waukesha.
Meli (pronounced Meh-Lee) held a soft opening on Tuesday, June 2.
The bar-restaurant, owned by Llazar Konda and Nicko Sifnaios, is located at 294 W. Main St., the site of the old Generations at 5 Points.
Jeff Oberholtzer, the chef at Generations at 5 Points, closed his restaurant in March to grow his barbecue food-truck business called Smokey O's.
While Generations at 5 Points specialized in small plates, Meli's menu will serve small and large plates along with burgers and sandwiches.
Some of the small plates include fresh Wisconsin cheese curds fried in Spotted Cow beer batter, brined crispy chicken wings, crisp calamari (fried squid) and braised lamb gnocchi. Small plates range from $5 to $9.
Sandwiches include a Mediterranean grilled chicken flatbread, a grilled steak baguette and half-pound burgers. Sandwiches are served with house made fries, house made chips, sweet potato fries or seasonal fruit. The price range for sandwiches is $7 to $13.
Large plates, priced between $10 and $15, include a 6 oz. tenderloin filet served with roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables; veal cutlets served with house made pasta; grilled salmon ala oscar that includes crab claw meat and asparagus served with creamy hollandaise sauce.
Salads and soups are also available.
Konda was previously the manager of Taylors People's Park restaurant in downtown Waukesha.
During the soft opening phase, Meli is just operating for dinner. It plans to open for lunch service on Monday, June 8.
Official restaurant and bar hours will be announced shortly.