MILWAUKEE -- Call it the evolution of the East Side or the end of an era. Either way, the character of the neighborhood is changing as bars move out and new businesses move in.
"North Avenue does nightlife very well, but sometimes too well," Alderman Nik Kovac quips to TODAY'S TMJ4. "I think North Avenue needs to be more successful during the day."
Kovac, who represents the east side on the City of Milwaukee's Common Council, explains that as more people move in to the area, they're looking for more amenities.
"We've got new hardware stores, bike shops, restaurants," Kovac says. "People don't want to drive to Bayshore anymore, they'd rather walk to these places."
The space for these new businesses are created as old establishments exit: Yield, Nick's House (former Y-Not III), School Yard and the Red Dot all closed their doors this summer.
A Japanese ramen noodles restaurant will soon move into the Yield location on Kenilworth and Prospect; Nick's House at Kenilworth and Farwell has been knocked down and may become a sculpture garden.
Residents we spoke with say they like some of the new amenities, but caution too much development at the expense of the East Side's character.
"Are we catering to the people living in these giant apartments I can't afford?" resident and former UWM student Liz Faraglia asks. "Yes, I'm concerned. I'm losing the memories of these bars that I came to with my friends."
