East Tosa's North Avenue storefronts have seen a flurry of activity in recent weeks, with businesses coming, going and changing names.
One of the biggest updates this week occurred on the corner of North 64rd Street, where Idyll Coffee Roasters has opened after more than 2 1/2 years of planning. The spacious coffee shop began serving customers Oct. 13 in a long-vacant building at 6330 W. North Ave. that the City of Wauwatosa has been trying to sell and redevelop since 2018.
And oh, how it has been redeveloped: Gone is the drab office-building exterior. Working with Galbraith Carnahan Architects and Dahlman Construction, the owners of Idyll Coffee have transformed the street-facing facade into a modern-looking mix of wood, steel and stucco surfaces, with a patio atop a stone-clad wall and stairway.
Inside, with the roasting facility visible through windows on the east end of the space, the first-floor dining areas wraps around the service counter to offer additional seating in back, including next to a fireplace. A second floor adds even more lofted seating for groups and individuals, with plush chairs and muted tones.
"It has been a long road to get here, but we're super proud of it," said Karen Kurgan, who owns the business with her husband, Peter Sohnle, and another couple, Dave and Amy Tamburrino.
This week starts the business' soft launch, Kurgan said, as the staff continues to finish equipping the kitchen and service area and gains initial experience with the coffee shop's operation. Hours are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Idyll Coffee's opening also is a long time coming for the building, which was last occupied in 2014, and for the city, which purchased it and began seeking proposals for its redevelopment seven years ago. In February 2023, Idyll Coffee's owners submitted their proposal to purchase the property, which was later accepted by the city.
The former office building's interior had to be gutted to turn it into the two-level cafe and roastery, and the dramatic changes to the exterior have been an object of fascination this year for motorists and pedestrians passing by on North Avenue.
Now, the wait is over, and the coffee is pouring.
It's a different story a few blocks west, at 6707 W. North Ave., where the takeout eatery Wing Zone once was. Local franchisees Matt and Jodie Schroeder closed that location and another in Milwaukee last month, telling the Milwaukee Business Journal that market saturation was a challenge: There are a lot of places to get chicken these days.
And after Wing Zone opened in 2024, it was soon followed by the opening of a Wingstop on the corner of 70th Street and North Avenue — direct competition just a few blocks away.
“Our venture into Wing Zone didn’t turn out quite as we had hoped,” Jodie Schroeder told the Business Journal.
The 6700 block of North Avenue has had a tough track record in recent years, especially since the former Red Dot at 6715 W. North Ave. was forced to close due to a fire in 2018. The adjacent laundromat was converted into the Wing Zone space, and the Red Dot tavern became Growlers East Tosa, which opened in March 2024.
Now, a Little Caesars is planned for the former Wing Zone, and Growlers appears to be undergoing a transformation of its own. In the past week, with little fanfare, the Growers signs disappeared and were replaced with new signs advertising a business called the Waddle Inn, complete with a waterfowl logo.
The building now occupied by the Waddle Inn also has a separate, vacant storefront on the east side, with no word yet on what might move in.
