Louise's Italian Cafe

R.C. Schmidt chose KBS to remodel the interior of this popular Downtown Milwaukee restaurant, and convert an existing Marie Calendar's in Brookfield into his 2nd Louise's Italian Café. This project was completed in January of 2002.

Address:
190th and Bluemound Road
Brookfield, WI

Challenges:
At the Louise's Restaurant Project in Brookfield, KBS renovated an existing sandwich shop in a retail building into a high-end California-style Italian restaurant. The project included major structural modifications to accommodate a large oak-framed storefront at the restaurant's entrance, and exposed wood and steel structure for the new vestibule and canopies. At the back-of-house, KBS provided new openings in the existing wall to accommodate 26ft of exhaust hoods and new electrical and gas services.

The finishes in this space are what make it work. We installed a drywall barreled ceiling with light coves and a faux antique plaster finish. We wrapped existing columns with concrete and drywall to replicate Italian pillars. We installed copper panels at the kitchen hoods and at a custom enclosure for the wood-fired oven. The custom low voltage lighting systems provide the ambiance using a combination of cable lighting, pendants, and light coves. We also built a complete custom bar with drink rails and custom glass and copper shelving systems.

Throughout this process, KBS worked with the owner's architect to control costs and provide architectural options. Many of the systems used in the design are the result of KBS input.

This entire project was constructed below occupied second floor office space. To accommodate the tenants above, we implemented a work policy that allowed us to complete noisy or disruptive work after hours. By limiting this to only the disruptive work, we controlled premium time costs and kept progress moving to complete the project within a very tight schedule.