Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 10:35 AM EST Feb 7, 2020
Three recent restaurant developments in the Fox Cities:
Open
Its signs aren’t up. The place isn’t decorated so far. But it’s cooking.
Miss Brown’s Fine Foods II opened its doors at 400 N. Richmond St. in the former Green Gecko space in Appleton’s Richmond Terrace. It’s an unmarked space at the corner of Packard Street that shares a vestibule with Nutritional Healing.
The business is an offshoot of a food cart with the same name that served the late-night downtown bar crowd.
Owner Phill Brown is grandson of the original Jamaica-based Miss Brown who created the recipes. His mom, Jean, is in the kitchen. They opened before the place was decorated to start generating income. Those who go now will find a plain seating area, yellow walls and the sweet-spicy aroma of Jamaican cooking.
“Temporary signs will go up this week and it will be a month to get the permanent signs up,” Brown said. “Hopefully people will be forgiving of the bland space.”
Prices start at $15 for a plate of jerk, barbecue or curry chicken with sides of rice with beans and steamed vegetables. Saturday specials might include oxtails, escovitch red snapper or other Jamaican dishes. Most customers, so far, opt for carry-out.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Restaurant sold
Mary’s Family Restaurant at 2312 N. Richmond St. in Appleton was sold to Rifat “Reggie” Rexhepi.
Outgoing owners Tim and Sue Huth had the restaurant up for sale for several years with the intention of retiring.
“If you saw Tim every day, now you’re going to see Reggie everyday. He’s a younger gentleman with enthusiasm. He wants to keep the successful business going,” said Tim Huth. “He took over the first of January. I’m still around but am not working. I’m getting some paperwork done.”
Huth said Rexhepi is keeping the Mary’s name, at least at the beginning, and will have the same staff of 55 employees, same recipes and same hours.
Huth’s retirement follows 23 years as a Mary’s employee — initially under founder Mary Loch — and another 23 years as owner. Loch opened her first Mary’s location on Badger Avenue in 1958.
Separately, the Huths still own the Oneida Street building that previously housed a second Mary’s on Appleton’s south side. They lease that building to Maple Tree Restaurant & Pancake House.
Closed and reopening
Sabino’s Latin & Asian Bistro closed at 208 W. Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Neenah.
The restaurant space will reopen next month as Little Siam.
Little Siam is owned by Thong and Yee Lee Vue, who are also the restaurateurs behind Bowl 91 in downtown Appleton and Big Pot & Grill in Darboy.
Little Siam could open as soon as mid March.
“We lived in Neenah when we came from Thailand,” said Yee Lee Vue. “It’s a great location and a great opportunity.”
Little Siam will serve traditional dishes from Thailand, which was once called Siam. They’ll also pay homage to the longtime Cy’s Asian Bistro, a restaurant that operated for 16 years in this spot.
“It will be a cozy little place where we’ll be serving authentic Thai food. We’ll be doing a lot of stir fry dishes,” said Vue. “Cy used to be known for his curries. These are not his recipes, but we want to continue focusing on curries.”
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
More: Frank’s Pizza Palace to reopen this spring
More: The Buzz: 2020 Reader Wish List
More: The Buzz: Three businesses close or announce closures in Appleton, Darboy, Kimberly
Let’s block ads! (Why?)
