Supernova Coffee & Donuts planned for 3rd Street Market Hall

Special homemade coffee and donuts arrive at Milwaukee’s new food court, located at 275 W. Wisconsin Ave. in the old Grand Avenue shopping center.

With a neon sign and light pink walls, Supernova Coffee & Donuts will be at the front of 3rd Street Market Hall and will also have a window for take out orders.

Supernova Coffee & Donuts isn’t a new cafe – it’s a second location under a different name. The first store, in South Milwaukee, is Avenue cafe, owned by Milwaukee natives Sara Lewkowski and Aaron Ruiz since 2016.

Create a place to hang out

Lewkowski said there weren’t any cafes nearby or cool hangouts when she was in high school, so she vowed to open hers one day.

This dream has come true with Avenue Coffeehouse, which offers locally roasted coffee and espresso drinks. Harmless coffee, some smoothies and baked goods from Troubadour bakery.

Following:Return to hometown of South Milwaukee led to Coffeehouse Avenue and a future in the bakery

South Milwaukee coffee has never lost its popularity, not even during the pandemic. In fact, Lewkowski said, it was getting busier and busier. Customers were even buying gift cards to be used later only to support the business, she said.

And with many loyal customers, the small space is filling up quickly.

“In two years we were out of space because it would be the weekend and all of our seats would be occupied,” Lewkowski said.

So, co-owners Lewkowski and Ruiz created a five-year game plan to find another location. With another space, they could expand their menu and give the people of Milwaukee a taste of their coffee. They moved to 3rd Street Market Hall.

Following:Milwaukee’s 3rd Street Market Hall signs its first tenants, Dairyland and Mid-Way Bakery

This journey began when Lewkowski enrolled in a baking and pastry making program at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Lewkowski said she learned the science behind cooking, something she never considered.

She also met chef and instructor Kurt Fogle, who introduced them to 3rd Street Market Hall.

“It seemed like good timing,” Lewkowski said.

Now they should occupy a 177 square foot seat in the lobby.

“We’re expanding into a whole different part of Milwaukee,” Lewkowski said. “I’m delighted to be downtown in a place with a lot of other people who have this sense of community.”

And the best part is … Lewkowski does more baking.

Donuts, coffee and goods

Supernova Coffee & Donuts will offer three kinds of donuts in addition to various coffee drinks: old-fashioned donuts, vegan donuts and a lost style of potato and flour donuts that were once famous. “Spudnuts”.

There’s extra moisture that makes them good, Lewkowski said of the lost donut.

The potato fritter was popular in the 1950s, but it didn’t persist. Lewkowski and Ruiz hope to bring him back.

The flavor of Supernova’s donuts will change, but Lewkowski plans to offer vanilla bean, chocolate, cinnamon sugar, maple, espresso, peanut butter and jelly, and may -be a blueberry cheesecake. She said she also hopes to donate the donuts to Avenue Coffeehouse on the weekends.

They will be affordable, Lewkowski said. She doesn’t want to charge more than $ 3 for donuts.

Coffee drink prices will remain the same as in South Milwaukee and will include drinks like their popular peanut butter latte and campfire mocha. The essential lavender and pistachio syrups will also be on the drink menu. They will also try to make a drink of the month, Lewkowski said.

Like their location in South Milwaukee, they will be selling limited merchandise at 3rd Street Market Hall, including their Anodyne house blend coffee and possibly branded coffee t-shirts and mugs.

Following:3rd Street Market Hall, the food hall that will arrive on The Avenue in September, has just received a key loan of $ 2 million for its financing package

They make the name Supernova to stand out from The Avenue space – the new name for the old mall, Lewkowski said. It also stays true to their popular space-themed branding done by their designer, Lauren Marvell.

Lewkowski said the new cafe does not yet have a set opening date.

But, 3rd Street Market Hall is not the end of this business duo’s expansion journey. They keep looking for a bigger space in South Milwaukee so they can serve brunches and reach more people.

“There’s really nothing in this neighborhood where you can walk and go for a healthy breakfast sandwich or a salad or anything like that,” Lewkowski said.

A bigger place, where they could serve a healthy breakfast, would fix that. Lewkowski said she imagines selling all vegan and vegetarian items, including breakfast sandwiches, acai bowls, more fruit smoothies, scrambled tofu, breakfast burritos and more. of pastries.

For now, it’s potato fritters and a good dose of coffee.

Avenue Coffeehouse, 911 Milwaukee Ave. in South Milwaukee, is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon.