Cafe Centraal To Reopen As Centraal Grand Cafe And Tappery

BAY VIEW, WI -- After announcing in early Dec. that Café Centraal in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood would be closing for extensive renovations, the Lowlands Group today released new details about the project.

The old Cafe Centraal will open in early February as the Centrall Grand Café & Tappery . The new restaurant will have an expanded kitchen, new food and beverage coolers, refinished flooring, a redesigned bar with more than 70 draught lines, and updates throughout the space.

Perhaps the biggest change in the menu will be the addition of brunch on weekdays. After reopening, Centraal will be one of the few places in the Bay View neighborhood to serve full-service, sit-down breakfast every day.

Besides moving the entrance to a more prominent corner, the new design also divides the building into two more-defined spaces: the “Tappery” in the front of the building, with a larger focus on a larger selection of beers and craft tap beverages, and a “Grand Cafe” space in the back of the restaurant that is more focused on brunch, lunch and dinner.

In addition, the design also features an event space with an art gallery vibe, featuring prints from Amsterdam artist Eddy Varekamp, as well as an extensive courtyard for outdoor dining.

The menu will continue to feature diverse, global cafe fare, but will introduce a “snacks” menu to accompany the beverage offerings, as well as some large-format platters meant for sharing between diners. Also added to the menu is a whole section of “friets,” traditional Dutch street food that will come in “loaded” styles such as Friets Speciaal (with curry ketchup, mayonnaise and diced raw onions), Patatje Oorlog (with mayonnaise, peanut sauce, and diced raw onions) or Kapsalon (with levantine meat, melted gouda, dressed greens, sambal and garlic sauce).

Image Via Google Street Map, Rendering Courtesy Lowlands Group