Bay View brunch spot Sabrosa Cafe & Gallery has closed

Popular Bay View brunch spot Sabrosa Cafe & Gallery, 3216 S. Howell Ave., has quietly closed.

A sign posted on the restaurant’s front door confirmed the closing Friday afternoon.

“Sabrosa is closed. Thank you for 8 years of wonderful memories,” the sign reads. “Support locally-owned small businesses.”

On Sabrosa’s Facebook page, the restaurant is listed as “permanently closed.”

Sabrosa was known for its sunny interior and eclectic menu of breakfast and brunch favorites like shrimp and grits and cheddar biscuits and gravy, Mexican breakfasts like huevos rancheros and chilaquiles, and American classics like fluffy omelets and buttermilk pancakes.

Frankie Sanchez and Ruben Piirainen opened the restaurant in 2017. Before that, Sanchez had helped his father open Tacqueria Azteca, another Bay View restaurant, which closed in 2008. Sanchez’s brother, Sal, owned Brady Street favorite Cempazuchi, which closed in 2018.

Aside from its food, Sabrosa was known for its in-restaurant art gallery, displaying work from local artists. Often, diners would be entertained by live music from the baby grand piano sitting near the back of the restaurant. Piirainen is also a professional pianist.

In March, the restaurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as reported by the BizTimes. That left hope that the restaurant could continue, but it made it just five months before closing its doors.

Sanchez opened a sister restaurant, Sisu Cafe, at 2121 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View in 2022. The restaurant, meant to be a fast-casual offshoot of Sabrosa, closed after eight months in business in March 2023.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bay View brunch spot Sabrosa Cafe & Gallery in Milwaukee has closed