New Milwaukee restaurants opening in August include a permanent spot for a popular food truck

From a new LGBTQ+ friendly bar in Walker's Point to a from-scratch restaurant in Bay View, a handful of new restaurants and bars are set to open in Milwaukee this month.

Among the new spots are a new food option at Potawatomi Casino Hotel from members of the band KISS, a popular food truck opening a permanent restaurant in Bay View, a new cocktail lounge with a raw bar downtown, and a Walker's Point bar focused on "Ru Paul's Drag Race" and pop-themed music.

Here are the four new bars and restaurants opening in Milwaukee in August.

Rock & Brews

1721 W. Canal St., Aug. 1

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS are opening a Milwaukee location of their chain restaurant Rock & Brews inside Potawatomi Casino Hotel. It is located on the second level by the skywalk.

The restaurant will feature dishes like the Rock'n Hot Chick Wings, Alice Cooper Poison Burger and Demon Chicken Sandwich.

The restaurant is part of a $190 million renovation project that is scheduled to be completed this year.

According to its website, Rock & Brews will be open 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday.

For more on Rock & Brews, visit rockandbrews.com or paysbig.com/restaurants/rock-and-brews-restaurant.

Pop

124 W National Ave., Aug. 25

Pop is Milwaukee's newest LGBTQ+ bar and restaurant in Walker's Point. It will be home to "Ru Paul's Drag Race" watch parties and pop music.

The bar will have pop-star themed cocktails named after stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. It will also host themed nights with 80s or 90s songs and music videos and parties for Green Bay Packers games.

"Entertainment will always be curated and at the forefront of what we plan to do," owner Marcus Wise said.

The bar will serve brunch on weekends and elevated bar food like truffle parmesan fries and pizza at night.

The bar is in the former Ashley's Que space, which was destroyed by a fire in 2017. It was rebuilt by the building's owner but has remained vacant since.

The space will once again be open to the public with Pop's planned opening in late August. To stay up-to-date on their opening, go to popwalkerspoint.com.

The Vault

111 E. Kilbourn Ave., later in August

The Vault is a new cocktail lounge coming to the River Center Market in the Associated Bank River Center building.

The cocktail bar will have a floor-to-ceiling view of the Milwaukee River from inside, and seating overlooking the river outside. It will have handcrafted cocktails and an upscale wine list.

It will also offer bar snacks such as warm pimento cheese and crostini ($9) and seasonal burrata salad ($13), and a raw bar with items like oysters ($23 for a dozen), ceviche ($13) and more.

The Vault comes from the owners of Pizza Man, the Gülden Room at the Dubbel Dutch hotel and Noble Catering & Events.

Go to rivercentermarketmke.com/vault to stay up-to-date on the opening day.

Heirloom MKE

2378 S. Howell Ave., late August

This popular Milwaukee food truck is opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the space formerly home to Lazy Susan.

It will bring the food truck's elevated from-scratch dishes including various sandwich plates and steamed mussels to Bay View. The restaurant will have the addition of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.

The kitchen of the new Heirloom space opened in July after the food truck was destroyed in a fire, though the inside of the restaurant has yet to open.

Heirloom owners Jessie and Peter Ignatiev have been cooking out of that kitchen for pickup orders to stay in business after the fire, and to raise money to get the food truck back.

Follow @heirloom.mke on Instagram for when they announce the restaurant's opening date.

Hannah Kirby and Jessica Rodriguez of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New Milwaukee bars and restaurants opening in August