Victor's to Lure Customers with Distinctive Menu

"It’s really coming to life," Sara Grover, executive director of Port Washington Main Street, said of the soon-to-be opened Victor’s Pier Street Shanty.

Owner Victor Cerda has been planning the details of his new restaurant for the past few months and is looking forward to opening in early July.

The casual restaurant, 301 E. Pier St., will specialize in seafood, but with inventive twists, Cerda said. Some of the offerings, created by Cerda and his chef Lisa Elbe, will include whole lobster, paella and lake trout Veracruz, Cerda said, and he hopes to finalize the menu soon.

"If you want to be distinctive, you have to bring in distinctive product," he said.  

He also will feature veal frangelico, his specialty dish from his previous restaurant Victor’s, which he ran for nine years in Cedarburg.  

But Cerda’s primary concern with his menu is keeping on top of food trends and listening to what his customers desire.  

"The guests will tell you what they want," he said.

And Cerda has some inclination as to what the area needs as well. He said he wanted to keep his new restaurant casual and fun, especially after testing out an informal menu featuring buffalo burgers and Baja fish tacos during Pirate Fest. The casual format seemed to be a good fit.

"People have to enjoy themselves," Cerda said.

Cerda certainly knows of what he speaks. Outside of running his own restaurant for nearly a decade, he also spent 24 years as the general manager of Milwaukee’s Bavarian Inn. Prior to taking a leadership role in restaurants, he had served as everything from dishwasher to sous chef.  

"It’s fun.  It’s what keeps me in the business," he said.

Having lived in the area for a number of years, Cerda explained that Port Washington seemed like the perfect place for his new business venture.  

"Port Washington has great potential with the lake," he said. His new restaurant has perfect views of the lake and the lighthouse, something that both he and his wife enjoy. Victor’s Pier Street Shanty will feature both indoor and outdoor seating to take advantage of the view.

With only a few weeks left until his planned opening, Cerda is "revisiting the drawing board" for last minute details, but hopes to be ready by the first weekend in July.