MILWAUKEE — “What do you love about this part of the city?” I asked Nancy Bush.
“Oh, let me count the ways," she said with a laugh.
Counting the ways simply would have taken too long. Instead, she showed me. Bush took me to three businesses along Historic Mitchell Street to learn about the neighborhood. Bush is the executive director of the Historic Mitchell Street Business Improvement District. There aren't many people who know the community better than her.
"I think what is so important is the cultural diversity and variety of the many businesses, business services, and restaurants that we have here," Bush said.
She took me to a small grocery store, restaurant, and furniture shop.
“Always something fun to do, always lively, and people are really kind over here," Reiad Kharoub, the general manager of Ultimate Home Furniture, said.
You won't find many places as diverse as this strip in the city.
“Oaxacan people, they like to eat bread not too sweet, so we make a variety of them. And as you go northern Mexico, people like sweeter stuff," Heladio Garcia, the owner of Del Valle Oaxaqueño y La Casa Del Pan, said. It's an Oaxacan restaurant and bakery.
Everyone here has a story. Many of those started outside of the United States, making this a true cultural melting pot.
“What we sell, number one, mostly we sell the meat, like korocha meat or halal meat," Abdisalam Osman, the owner of the east African grocery store Garden of Eden, said.
The one thing all these business owners have in common this street is their love for the neighborhood.
“I feel good when I see the variety of businesses that we continue to add to the Historic Mitchell Street corridor," Bush said.
I met with Nancy Bush, so she could show me around the businesses on Mitchell Street. Everywhere we went and who we talked to was all up to her. Welcome to Historic Mitchell Street.
Nancy Bush
“It was known for years and years and years as the downtown of the South Side because of all of the variety of businesses, restaurants, groceries, services, theaters," Nancy Bush said.
She wasn't born in this neighborhood, but it has quickly become her home. She has committed nearly two decades to improving the business district.
“We’re one of the smaller (business improvement districts) in geographical size. We’re about 16 blocks, and so it’s a very dense commercial area," she said.
Much of her work has been about promoting the area as a go-to space for shopping and eating while also getting commercial property owners to invest in the community.
“It appeals, I think, more to a larger group of shoppers and visitors to the area. All part of the cultural diversity, I think, of the area," Bush said.'
Abdisalam Osman
The first place Nancy Bush took me on the tour of Mitchell Street was a grocery store, Garden of Eden.
“The community who come here is East African people mostly coming like Ethiopian, Somalian, Kenyan, Ugandan, Congolese people. So really, we have what most of the stores they don’t have. That’s why I decided to open this store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin," Abdisalam Osman, the owner of Garden of Eden, said.
He came to Milwaukee in 2004 from a Kenyan refugee camp. Osman is originally from Somalia.
“Oh yea, I’m happy. I’m happy in Milwaukee. I never go to any other places, so Milwaukee is the best, and I encourage all the people. The way you see a lot of refugees coming, because life is better than the other state or the other city," Osman said.
The most popular items sold at his store are cologne and perfume. When talking about what he sells at his grocery store, his scented items came up more than food.
“We also have some stuff like perfume, air freshener, all the stuff, and you will not find it in Milwaukee except us," Osman said.
“Obviously, like East Africa, they like some of my stuff like the perfume, the cologne, and the lotion, the air freshener.”
“The popular item we have like dates, different dates. This is the date we have to show. Most of the people like perfume and cologne.”
The Garden of Eden has a large selection of food from produce to camel's milk, and a butcher shop. It's open seven days a week from 9:30 am to 7 pm.
Del Valle Oaxaqueño y La Casa Del Pan
After the visit to the Garden of Eden Nancy Bush brought me to a new restaurant and bakery in the neighborhood - Del Valle Oaxaqueño y La Casa Del Pan.
“We’re doing Oaxacan dishes. We have mole and those are unique for this place. And of course, our bakery. We have Oaxacan bread. We also do regular Mexican bread and also Guatemalan bread," Heladio Garcia, the owner, said.
Garcia came to the United States in 1996. He lived in California before settling in Wisconsin in 2005.
“Working with Nancy as well, she really helps us to, you know, make this Mitchell Street more vibrant," Garcia said.
He already owns one bakery. This second location is part of larger expansion plans.
“My goal is to expand a little bit more, and I want the community to know that we’re here for them and just to serve them. We love to serve people. I’ve been working in the service industry since I was 15, and I love it," Garcia said.
Reiad Kharoub
The final stop on the tour of Mitchell Street was at Ultimate Home Furniture.
“We sell Ashley furniture at discounted prices," Reiad Kharoub said.
The shop was opened in 2007 by Kharoub's dad.
“People are so kind here, and there’s always something going on. There’s always events, especially with the church across the street. There’s always good food, too.”
Among the business owners, he said, everyone is very collaborative. Everybody wants to see their neighbors succeed.
“Yea, I mean I have a good relationship with almost everyone on our block. We put posters in each other’s storefronts and things like that, and I know almost all of them by name.”
One Last Question
As is tradition in the My Block series, the last word is always given to the tour guide of the My Block story. In this episode, that's Nancy Bush.
Before that happens, here is how you can be part of the award-winning series. Reach out to me, James Groh, to nominate your neighborhood or a neighbor to be featured in the next story. You can fill out this submission form or contact me at james.groh@tmj4.com or call/text at (414) 254-8145. The series covers all types of neighborhoods and communities. Previous examples include stories on a mother-daughter duo revitalizing Metcalfe Park, a rural neighborhood where the same families have lived for 186 years, how one woman is keeping a watchful eye on her neighborhood, the Dharmic temples of Pewaukee, how Latino immigrants adapt to life in Milwaukee, and many more. Watch the other 34 My Block stories here.
Now back to Nancy Bush and Mitchell Street.
“Is there anything else you’d like to say about your neighborhood?" I asked her.
“I hope that we get a lot more attention to our business neighborhood. I hope we continue to grow and that we get more people shopping and dining here on Mitchell Street and enjoying the historic side of this area and really become acquainted with all that Historic Mitchell Street and this district has to offer.”
Watch the video about Mitchell Street here...
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.