Daddy's Soul Food owners plan new near west side restaurant. A state grant will help finance it.

A planned new restaurant on Milwaukee's near west side − part of a larger development that includes restoring a historic former theater − is getting a big financing boost.

A $250,000 state grant will help pay for renovations at the future restaurant site, a former tavern at 2610 W. State St.

That pending grant, from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., was disclosed at a Tuesday meeting of the Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee.

It will be used to help finance Dulaney's restaurant, to be operated by Bennie and Angela Smith. They also own the nearby Daddy's Soul Food & Grille, 754 N. 27th St.

"It will close the gap in financing," said Matt Rejc, Department of City Development commercial corridor manager.

The city is obtaining the grant for New State MKE LLC, a for-profit group which owns both the future home of Dulaney's and the neighboring former State Theater, 2612-2616 W. State St.

The Smiths plan to open Dulaney's by spring 2024. New State MKE has already done some renovations to the building and has converted a vacant lot east of the restaurant into an outdoor music venue.

New State MKE plans to begin additional renovations on the restaurant space by August, said John Hennessy, who's leading the development.

Meanwhile, New State MKE also continues to seek financing to convert the former theater into an all-ages performance venue, as well as recording studios, to help young people learn about the music industry.

West Side Arts Un, Limited, a nonprofit group, is to operate that venue, dubbed the New State Theater. 

The building was operated as a cinema from around 1916 until 1948.

It later housed several night clubs, including the Palms from 1979 to 1984. The Palms featured acts such as U2, Joan Jett, The Police, B-52s, X, Dire Straits, Hank Williams Jr. and Tom Petty — often before they were big stars.

The last business there was Hoops, a strip club, which operated from 1986 to 1991.

The building was badly damaged in a 2017 fire and was facing demolition by the city before New State MKE bought it. The group has since done roof repairs, asbestos removal and interior demolition to set the stage for more extensive redevelopment work.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.