Jake RossIf you’re looking to break outside the familiar locales for breakfast, head down to the Fifth Ward and check out Zak’s Cafe. (It’s located a short walk from another place we featured on CCC, the Purple Door.) Like all of the fashionable restaurants and boutiques in this area, Zak’s Cafe is housed in an old, rustic Cream City Brick warehouse. The menu offers the basics, which are all excellent. (I recommend the Eggs Benedict.) But what I really enjoyed was the cool atmosphere.
Anyone paying attention knows that one of Milwaukee’s success stories of late is the rehabilitation of abandoned warehouses, many of which are charming architectural gems. The original integrity of these buildings is carefully preserved as new life is breathed in them in the form of hip restaurants and intimate cafes. Today, the younger generation, more likely working with computers and coding than in warehouses and factories, can still appreciate these century-old buildings that are a huge part of MIlwaukee’s heritage.
