Fox Brook Park, Wanaki Golf Course re-open
Fox Brook Park and Wanaki Golf Course have re-opened after being closed last week due to flooding.
Fox Brook Park, 2925 N. Barker Road, Brookfield, is accessable via Capitol Drive due to construction on North Avenue. Tee times for Wanaki Golf Course, W20830 Lisbon Road, Menomonee Falls, are available by calling (262) 252-3480, or by logging onto www.golfwaukeshacounty.com.
Italian-style pizzas the focus at Brookfield's new Mozzaluna
The wood-fired oven in Brookfield’s Stonewood Village is making pizzas again, in a snap — about 2 minutes to bake each one. Mozzaluna has opened in 17700 W. Capitol Drive.
That site previously was Mr. B’s -- A Bartolotta Steakhouse, until it moved down the road a bit in 2010. Before that, the site was Nonna Bartolotta’s, which served pizzas and other midpriced Italian fare.
To come up with the name for his new restaurant, Phil LeClaire combined a cheese and a knife — mozzarella and mezzeluna.
“I’ve been fascinated with the restaurant business my whole life,” said LeClaire, a structural engineer. He wanted to open a restaurant for families that wasn’t a chain or high-end to fill a gap in that part of Brookfield.
The restaurant’s menu lists five appetizers, three salads and five pasta dishes, but its main focus is pizzas. Customers can design their own or choose from the 15 specialty pizzas. Each pizza is meant for one diner; pizzas all are about 11 to 12 inches and run $8 to $13. For an extra $2, guests can substitute fresh mozzarella.
» Read Full ArticleUno site gives way to Culver's in Elm Grove
The former Pizzeria Uno building is being razed to clear the way for a new Culver's restaurant in Elm Grove.
Uno abruptly closed its location at 15280 W. Blue Mound Road in September of last year.
A new Culver's restaurant, with a drive-through lane, is expected to open by mid October, said David DeAngelis, Elm Grove village manager.
Tell us your Brookfield hotspots
We need your help building a list of your favorite places in Brookfield - and one lucky participant will win a pair of Marcus Theatres movie tickets.
Share your favorite places - maybe an eatery, a park, a theater - to go to in the town and the city of Brookfield. We'll then put that list on the location-based service Foursquare, where you can follow and check off as you visit each place.
Here's how it will work:
Through May 25 you can submit your favorite places to go to in Brookfield on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/MyCommunityNOW. Click on "Best of Brookfield" underneath the cover photo. On that page, you can recommend up to three places, but you can enter only once.
A winner will be drawn from the entries after May 25. Readers will receive one entry into the drawing for each place they suggest, meaning a maximum of three entries.
» Read Full ArticleBrookfield mosque likely to be approved Tuesday night
The City of Brookfield is expected to give final approval Tuesday for construction of an Islamic mosque, the first in Waukesha County.
The Common Council is scheduled to vote on a conditional use permit for the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, which has proposed the 13,000-square-foot worship and community center on Pheasant Drive east of N. Calhoun Road.
“After 10 years of struggling to find the right place ... and a lot of hard work, our community is ready to move forward in making its dream come true of having a place of worship in Waukesha County," Islamic Society President Ahmed Quereshi said Tuesday.
The likely approval comes despite weeks of opposition from critics and skeptics who’ve raised concerns ranging from traffic to terrorism. A number of individuals and religious groups have voiced their support.
City planners have said that the project meets all of Brookfield’s land use requirements -- the only criteria it can legally consider in evaluating a construction project. And the city’s Plan Commission unanimously recommended approval last week.
» Read Full ArticleBid to reduce Waukesha County board position hits bumps
Waukesha - A suggestion that the new Waukesha County Board chairman's job could be reduced to half time as soon as this month appears to have been overly ambitious.
Newly elected Chairman Paul Decker of Hartland, a business owner who took on the chairmanship in the belief that the board would vote to reduce the job to part time, got a mixed reaction to the change Monday from the County Board's Executive Committee.
Decker himself said that in his first four weeks in the office, he's learned the job is bigger and more time-consuming than he had expected, even as he tries to bring technological efficiencies to the County Board office operation.
He's asked staff to prepare information on the leadership responsibilities and comparisons with other counties. He'll schedule more discussion at future Executive Committee meetings, he said.
Supervisor Patricia Haukohl of Brookfield, the board's vice chairman who heads the Finance Committee, said at Monday's meeting that she didn't want to see the chairman's job diminished when it should be an equal partner with the executive and judicial branches of county government.
» Read Full ArticleEast nips Lancers, 11-8, win sixth straight
Brookfield East defeated Brookfield Central, 11-8, Thursday night at East and the Spartans won their sixth straight game.
The Spartans scored 11 runs in the first inning and were one out from ending the game with the 10-run rule, when Central scored four runs in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 11-5. The Lancers then cut the lead to 11-8 by scoring three more times in the sixth, but winning pitcher Amanda Kalupa had a 1-2-3 seventh inning to end the game.
Becky Hanson had a bases-clearing double to key the Spartans 11-run first inning. Jocelyn 'Skeeter' Yeager, Kalupa and Kelsey Kuehn also had key hits and Central chipped in with two errors. Yeager and Taylor Duffrin added sacrifice flies.
In the fifth with two outs, Laura Hauser, Angie Chartier and Carly Sobrilsky each singled. Hauser scored on a passed ball, Chartier on an error and Hannah Krogman singled driving in two runs.
Hauser came on in relief in the second inning and blanked East the rest of the way. Central added three runs in the sixth, two coming on Hauser's two-run single, but that was all the Lancers could muster.
» Read Full ArticleSneak peek at menu items at 8*twelve, the Rodgers-Braun restaurant
Interest has been high in 8*twelve MVP Bar & Grill, the Brookfield restaurant the SURG group is opening with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun. (The venture was announced Monday.)
So, what's on the menu? The restaurant will serve its interpretation of American classics with some Wisconsin touches, such as butter burgers on house-made pretzel rolls ($12) and Wisconsin-raised, heritage-breed pork chop with pastrami seasoning, red cabbage and grain-mustard spaetzle ($23).
Look for some of the menu items to be prepared in a wood-fired oven.
8*twelve is expected to open in late June at 17800 W. Blue Mound Road; until then, chew on these early menu items, crafted by executive chef Aaron Patin:
Appetizers will include cheese curds fried in Lakefront ale batter, lobster cake, salmon tartare and artisanal cheeses.
» Read Full Article8*twelve hopes to capitalize on famous owners
Wisconsin's two most famous athletes are teaming with one of Milwaukee's pre-eminent restaurateurs to bring some MVP style to the west side.
Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun and Green Bay Packer Aaron Rodgers will join forces with SURG restaurant group - owner of Umami Moto, Carnevor and Distil restaurants in Milwaukee - to open a family-friendly eatery named 8*twelve in Brookfield next month.
The restaurant will be located in the former Charro building, 17800 W. Bluemound Road in the city of Brookfield.
"Aaron and I are not only great friends, but we both have wholeheartedly made long-term commitments to the sports fans of Wisconsin," Braun said in a news release. "We wanted to give them a home base to celebrate their favorite teams and enjoy some great food and service."
8*twelve will serve American food cooked atop a wood-fire grill.
» Read Full ArticleElmbrook administrators to lead Menomonee Falls High School
School administrator musical chairs continues this week with the announcement that two Brookfield East High School administrators will be leading Menomonee Falls High School this fall.
The Menomonee Falls School District released a statement this week that said Corey Golla and Andy Farley will be the high school's principal and assistant principal, respectively, starting July 1.
Golla has been the athletic and activities director for Brookfield East for the past eight years and served as associate principal, and Farley has been interim athletic and activities director and assistant principal at the school since February, the statement said.
Also departing the Elmbrook School District is superintendent Matt Gibson, who will retire this summer.
The district announced earlier this year that Mark Hansen, currently the chief academic officer for the Pewaukee School District, will succeed Gibson and be the next superintendent of Elmbrook Schools.
Brookfield Plan Commission approves controversial mosque project
An eruption of hugs and tears met the Brookfield Plan Commission's unanimous approval of a new mosque on Pheasant Drive. Monday night, well over 100 people, residents and non-residents alike, came to the public hearing, mostly to show their support for the project which would bring a 13,000 square foot house of worship to Brookfield, the first of its kind.
Of the more than 80 people who spoke at the meeting, less than 10 offered any kind of opposition to the project, a stark contrast from a town hall-style meeting two weeks ago when arguments erupted over controversial issues surrounding the Muslim faith.
No such issues came up at this meeting, even among opponents, as the discourse was narrowed only to include building, traffic, and other code-related concerns.
"The issue tonight is a building, not a religion. It's a building," insisted Mayor Steven Ponto.
"If you want to talk about religion or you want to talk about the Brewers, please go outside of City Hall and do that."
» Read Full ArticleBrookfield panel endorses mosque
Brookfield - The Brookfield Plan Commission on Monday unanimously recommended approval of the city's first mosque, eliciting a burst of applause from members and supporters of the Muslim community.
"We're very happy and touched by the broad-based support for this project," Brookfield physician Mushir Hassan, who has spearheaded the development plans, said after the vote.
"I'm proud to be a Brookfield resident," longtime resident Rafat Arain told commission members before leaving the Common Council chambers.
Alderman and Plan Commission member Gary Mahkorn called it "a proud moment for the city of Brookfield."
The issue now moves to the Brookfield Common Council, which takes up the request for a conditional use permit at its May 15 meeting.
» Read Full ArticleRodgers, Braun sign on for Brookfield restaurant; more might come
Two of Wisconsin's best-known pro athletes are joining forces in the restaurant business. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun have signed licensing agreements with SURG restaurant group for a restaurant in Brookfield.
It will be called 8*twelve MVP Bar & Grill, serving American classics such as steak and seafood prepared on a wood-fire grill, according to SURG partner Omar Shaikh. It's expected to open in late June.
The name, of course, refers to the players' jersey numbers; Rodgers' is No. 12, Braun's is No. 8. Braun was voted major-league baseball's most valuable player in the National League after the 2011 season, and Rodgers is the reigning National Football League MVP.
Both players are expected to make appearances at 8*twelve, which takes the place of the former Charro in Brookfield, at 17800 W. Blue Mound Road. Charro, a pan-Latin restaurant owned by SURG, closed in August.
Shaikh declined to say whether the players have ownership stakes in the restaurant.
» Read Full ArticleEast's Golla resigns to take over as Falls principal
Brookfield East Athletic & Activities Director Corey Golla has resigned his position with Brookfield East to accept the position of principal at Menomonee Falls High School.
Golla, who has been at Brookfield East since 2004, has a consistent track record of athletic and activities program development, sportsmanship and success. He began his career with the school district in 1996 as a teacher and coach at Pilgrim Park Middle School and Brookfield East.
Golla recently received the Brookfield Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, an honor bestowed upon one outstanding school district employee each year. Superintendent Matt Gibson nominated Golla for the 2012 award, calling him “an advocate for student participation, sportsmanship, character development and award-winning performance.”
“While this opportunity is exciting to me professionally and a great opportunity for my family, leaving Brookfield East and the Elmbrook School District is difficult,” Golla said. “I have proudly given 16 years of my career to this district and the Spartans will be in my heart forever. I am proud of every program I am leaving behind, and I wish to thank the entire East community for your support.”
Principal Mr. Dan Pavletich also commented Golla for his performance at East.
» Read Full ArticleEast's Farley resigns to take associate principal's job at Falls
Brookfield East head basketball coach Andy Farley has resigned his position after nine years with the team to accept an associate principal position at Menomonee Falls
“I am grateful for the opportunity and the experiences that I have shared as head of the Brookfield East boys’ basketball program," Farley said. "I have had the ultimate opportunity in life to work with some of the best student-athletes any coach could have asked to work with and consider many life-long friends.
"In addition, I am thankful for the opportunity to work with a collection of outstanding teachers, administrators and staff that have always supported me and the boys’ basketball program. I look forward to watching the future success of the Spartan program.”
Farley, an East graduate himself, was hired as a social studies teacher and head basketball coach by Principal Joe Schroeder and athletic director Jerry Keyes in 2003.
Under his leadership the Spartans have won 92 games and earned the respect of the basketball community as a tenacious, disciplined team. Among Farley’s performance highlights was the WIAA Regional Championship in 2007, a year in which the Spartans advanced to the Sectional final. The spirited rivalry with BCHS and Wauwatosa East will long be remembered as some of the most exciting events in recent school memory.
» Read Full ArticleWaukesha County collection drive draws 2.8 tons of unneeded medications
Waukesha - The Waukesha County collection of unused and unneeded prescription drugs brought in 5,715 pounds - about 2.8 tons worth - at seven collection sites Saturday, the county executive's office reported Monday.
The Waukesha County Drug Free Communities program sponsored the four-hour collection effort in order to keep drugs out of the area water supply and out of the hands of potential abusers. Saturday's was the fourth collection in three years with a total of nearly 9 tons of drugs collected for proper disposal in the combined efforts. .
Julianne Davan, executive assistant to County Executive Dan Vrakas, said about 2,500 vehicles representing 3,296 households delivered medications for disposal Saturday. The majority were first-time visitors, she said.
A separate collection drive conducted by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District at Miller Park in Milwaukee collected 3,443 pounds of medications.
