Bye, bye, bye to these 7 Madison-area food names [WI, Pandemic-Induced]

Madison Magazine ^ | August 9, 2024 | Zella Milfred

[Diana in Wisconsin]

When local restaurant owners make the difficult decision to close their doors for good, it often feels like the Madison area loses a little part of its identity.

Recently, a few of those announcements have been about establishments old and new, including Nick's Restaurant of 60 years, Essen Haus of 40 years, Harvest of 20 years, Daisy Café & Cupcakery of 15 years, East Johnson Family Restaurant and The Ready Set, both open about three years, and Amara of about two years. They're places we'll miss that offered food and experiences we won't soon forget. Here's more information about their closings.

Daisy Café & Cupcakery (closing Aug. 26)

After 15 years of serving comfort food and fresh-baked cupcakes on Madison’s eastside, Daisy Café & Cupcakery (2827 Atwood Ave.) is closing on Aug. 26. Post-pandemic difficulties have made the family-owned restaurant too difficult to maintain, according to its closing announcement on social media.

The Madison favorite is well known for serving a wide variety of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan-friendly options under a community-driven approach. The restaurant’s chorizo biscuits and gravy (which is normally a weekends-only special) will now be available every day until close. Visit Daisy’s outdoor patio or art-filled dining room to try this popular dish — or one of its many others — before it’s too late.

Amara (closed July 27)

Amara (670 N. Midvale Blvd.) closed on July 27 after nearly two years of service at Hilldale. The upscale Italian restaurant was operated by Rule No. One Hospitality Group, which runs a number of other restaurants in Madison including Merchant, Lucille and Todofresco. The company gave us no comment as to why Amara closed.

Essen Haus (closing early fall)

Essen Haus (514 E. Wilson St.) is scheduled to close in early fall after over 40 years of fostering gemütlichkeit — a German word to encapsulate the feeling of coziness and social wellbeing — in downtown Madison, according to Spectrum News. A redevelopment plan has been approved to build apartments and a hotel in its place.

East Johnson Family Restaurant (closed mid-July)

Husband-and-wife Kyle Johnson and Gwen Shales opened East Johnson Family Restaurant (824 E Johnson St.) in 2022. The diner closed in mid-July after the managing responsibilities became too difficult to balance with the owners’ other restaurants and the birth of their third child, according to The Cap Times.

Harvest (closed in 2020)

After serving farm-to-table New American food on Capitol Square for two decades, Harvest (21 N. Pinckney St.) temporarily closed during the pandemic lockdown in 2020. The restaurant will now stay permanently closed, as owner Tami Lax focuses on maintaining her other restaurant, Old Fashioned. Lax struggled to find new employees when COVID restrictions were lifted and cited building maintenance needs as another barrier to staying open, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Nick’s Restaurant (closed May 11)

After serving Madison customers for more than 60 years, Nick’s Restaurant (226 State St.) closed on May 11. Owner Dino Christ cited pandemic challenges, inflation and city ordinances as reasons for closing the downtown supper club.

The Ready Set (closed Aug. 4)

The Ready Set (113 S. Main St., Oregon) opened in downtown Oregon in February 2022, and announced its immediate closure on Aug. 4 on Facebook. The restaurant that served homemade pasta dishes and pizza gave no public reason for its closure.

[SJSAMPLE]

Let’s be clear about this. Finally.

The pandemic didn’t do this.

The government did.

[Red Badger]

Bidenomics......................IT’S WORKING!.................

[BenLurkin]

Wasn’t Minnesota one of the states which had a power-mad governor ordering the pointless government lockdowns?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Let’s be clear about this. Finally. The pandemic didn’t do this. The government did.

^THIS!^

[Flatus I. Maximus]

Not Nick’s?! Whenever I went back to Madison, the trip wasn’t complete without a pilgrimage to Nick’s!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

And if we get our wish, those same policies will be Nation-Wide!

*BARF*

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Owner Dino Christ cited pandemic challenges, inflation and city ordinances as reasons for closing the downtown supper club.”

It was the Trifecta of Socialist Democrats and their business-friendly economic policies. *Rolleyes*

I STILL miss ‘Ovens of Brittany.’ We never got a good reason for their closings, though the three restaurants closed one at a time over a number of years. I console myself with their cookbook once in a while. ;)

[Liz]

Many restaurants struggled with finding servers.

Biden did that-——his trillion dollar spending put so much money
into govt giveaways, people took govt handouts instead of finding jobs.

[bgill]

Even in good times, restaurants are about the hardest industry to make a go of it.

The lockdowns ended in Aug. 2020 so we’re 4 years out. The problem is the $20/hr to flip burgers and inflation overall.

I’ve always hated eating out so they can’t include me in today’s drop in customers. Many are learning they can cook at home and save an absolute fortune.

Jelly roll sized homemade pepperoni or leftovers pizza <$3

Whataburger $5.83 vs homemade burger with store bought buns $1.17. That’s 5 homemade burgers for 1 at the window for a savings of $28. Gosh, don’t go to Sonic or they’ll want a tip for walking it to your car.

Bean burritos? Stir-fried rice? A breakfast breakfast sandwich? Cookies and muffins and throw in delivery and a tip because you are lazy and have $$$ to burn? Come on, those cost pennies at home. Two egg and cheese corn tortilla wraps with hot sauce = 50 cents or less with homemade flour tortillas.

I can make 10 Schlotsky’s medium original sandwiches with scratch buns (minus one of the two salamis because genoa isn’t sold here though it isn’t missed) for the price of 1 at the window. Hellooo, 10-1 saves about $90.

[A strike]

next door

[central_va]

The problem is the $20/hr to flip burgers and inflation overall.

So how much do fast food workers make in Madison? We will ask Bing

"The average wage for fast food workers in Madison, WI is $14.23 per hour. Entry level positions start at $27,300 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $52,000 per year."

[Major Matt Mason]

If the GOP at this time can't make the case for why voters should choose their candidates, then they need to turn out the lights at the RNC. The choice is very clear.

[so_real]

The Essen Haus is closing ??? I fondly recall many boots of beer shared among friends at the Essen Haus. Sad day.

[BlueMondaySkipper]

I loved the Essen Haus and we have one of the boots. When my wife and I got married 33 years ago we had our rehearsal dinner there.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I talked with a young woman yesterday while we were waiting in a check-out line. She just quit her job (Middle-management) at a national high-end clothing store. She said it has been impossible to find decent help, but she left because she got a 9-5 job with an insurance company and hasn’t had a weekend off since she was 15. She’s 30, not getting any younger, wants to find a husband and have babies. (You go, Girl!) People will tell you EVERYTHING about their lives if you let them talk - I am no exception, LOL!

So, yeah. Finding decent help is due to more Socialist Democrat ‘policies.’

In all my working years, (ages 15-56) it NEVER occurred to me NOT to work.

[Liz]

Thx for the realtime story.

[Organic Panic]

Vote for more democrats...