Buttermint opening provides fine dining experience for patrons
Buttermint’s temporary sign on Oakland Avenue. Blue’s Egg, the restaurant that formerly occupied this space, closed due to the pandemic. The same owners are opening Buttermint with a new style of dining.
Offering a unique, upscale dining experience, Buttermint opened its doors to the public on December 14, 2021. Previously, Blue’s Egg occupied the restaurant’s location on Oakland Avenue. Black Shoe Hospitality, a restaurant company with multiple locations in Milwaukee, chose to close Blue’s Egg after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, in part because of its location further from other Black Shoe Hospitality owned businesses.
“It was a conscious decision at the time of when the pandemic hit… we had to downsize our teams just to survive,” said Dan Sidner, co-owner of Black Shoe Hospitality. “Knowing that the other three [restaurants] geographically were close together, it just was a little easier.”
Following the closing of Blue’s Egg, Black Shoe Hospitality decided to divert from their traditional restaurant style and create a finer dining experience in the same location. Buttermint was created as a result of community demand for a different type of dining experience, due to the observation that the Shorewood area lacked fine-dining establishments.
“We knew that there was a calling from the local neighborhood, and people that want a little more upscale presence of dining,” said Jason Kerstein, director of operations at Black Shoe Hospitality. “That’s what drew us to the area and what drew us specifically to open this style of restaurant in Shorewood… there isn’t a whole lot of this style of dining.”
The creators of the restaurant were inspired by the emergence of continental cuisine in the 1960s, which integrates a variety of cultural dishes into its menu. Other influences include the decor style of the ‘60s and ‘70s, which is incorporated into the interior design of the restaurant.
“The term Buttermint comes from that period,” Sidner said. “One of the traditions of that time was when you got your check, you got buttermints. They’re these little colorful pink, green and white mints.”
When it comes to the menu, there is a diverse and inclusive selection of choices.
“All of our restaurants have specific vegetarian [and] easily made vegan options. We have gluten free options, we have nut free options, whatever it may be,” Sidner said. “Say somebody is trying to avoid dairy, we can modify it, and we’re happy to do that. We are more than happy to make those accommodations.”
While implementing ‘60s cuisine into its menu, Buttermint attempts to include modern elements in dining as well, and allows these two themes to compliment each other with the work of their chef, Joe Muench.
“We’re not trying to be a supper club,” Kerstein said. “We’re trying to be a refined style of dining, with our chef taking specific dishes from that era but putting a new twist in them.”
In the face of constantly changing conditions, the team behind Buttermint is working hard to adjust to any new Covid-19 related developments that might affect policy or business, such as the recently reinstated Milwaukee mask mandate.
“Restaurants have always been a week to week business, we always have to adopt our business model to holidays, school starting… [and] events going on in town.” Sidner said. “What’s been different about Covid is we’ve had to deal with day to day challenges”
Despite all of the difficult changes brought on by Covid-19, Sidner is optimistic for the future of Buttermint.
“We’ve seen more dynamic change in the last two years than what existed in the previous 20 years.” Sidner said. “It has been hard but we’re emerging from it and I think we’re gonna do well.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has not only affected restaurant regulations but has also increased the difficulty of the hiring process.
“The last year has been, without even a close comparison, the most challenging staffing environment we’ve ever been in,” Sidner said.
Chloe Cayo, junior, is one of several Shorewood High School students working at Buttermint. Cayo was hired before the restaurant opened and the restaurant’s close proximity to the school allows for a conveniently local working environment.
“The location is really nice, because I can just walk there after school. I don’t need to walk home first, I can just bring my work clothes to school with me,” Cayo said.
Along with the great location of the restaurant, Cayo anticipates that the job will better prepare her for future jobs and experiences.
“I feel like everyone should have some sort of job eventually in the food industry,” Cayo said. “It really goes to show the effort it takes to run a restaurant, and also you learn a lot of people skills, and basic skills that could be helpful in the future.”
Despite all of the changes Black Shoe Hospitality has adapted to throughout the pandemic, the owners continue to appreciate the community of Shorewood, specifically its walkability. Whether it’s at Blue’s Egg or Buttermint, the owners look forward to serving guests at their Oakland Avenue location.
“I love the walkability of the neighborhood. I love that so many guests arrive at our doorstep by foot, and I love that the people of Shorewood have been super supportive,” Sidner said.