After three years as anchor tenants for the 3rd Street Market Hall, 275 W. Wisconsin Ave. Dairyland Old-Fashioned Frozen Custard & Hamburgers along with its sister concept, Mid-Way Bakery, will be exiting the food hall.
“We’d like to thank the Dairyland team for being a part of our journey at 3rd St. Market Hall,” said Omar Shaikh, partner at 3rd St. Market Hall. He added, “Dairyland and Mid-Way were two of our anchor tenants when we opened and we’re thankful they shared their talent and delicious food with all of us. We wish them the best.”
Minneapolis meets Milwaukee
In the wake of their departure, 3rd Street will welcome the national award-winning Minneapolis, Minnesota brand, Bebe Zito, along with their popular line-up of burgers, chicken sandwiches and housemade ice cream.
The new location will mark the fifth location for co-owners Ben Spangler and Gabriella Grant who will also have the opportunity to reignite their connections to Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
Grant, who is an alumni of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), says she fell in love with the city during her years as a student here. In fact, she chose to live and work as a designer in Milwaukee for years after earning her degree, further cementing her connection to the city and becoming familiar with a wide variety the area’s vibrant neighborhoods. Spangler, meanwhile, has worked as a chef in Western Wisconsin where he delved into the state’s rich agricultural heritage through the curation of farm-to-table dining experiences.
“I am so excited to come back to Milwaukee,” Grant says. “I learned so much about myself in this city…and the idea of returning just feels right. The food and beverage scene is growing, the Downtown and surrounding areas are diverse and vibrant, it feels alive during the day and night—we’re excited to be a part of THAT!”
What to expect
Both Grant and Spangler also have experience bringing lively concepts to a food hall environment, having operated eateries at both Malcolm Yards Market and East Street Crossing (closed in December) in Minneapolis. Currently, they oversee three locations: their original location in the Uptown Neighborhood as well as shops in Woodbury and at Malcolm Yards. Each location is unique, capturing elements of the community in which it resides.
At 3rd Street Market Hall, the Bebe Zito experience will incorporate a collection of the most popular and sought-after items in their growing repertoire.
That includes the hand-crafted ice cream bases which comprise their small-batch ice cream collection, a creative collection that allows guests to combine myriad mix-ins to make their own dairy-licious creations.
Among the favorite flavors hand-made in the Bebe Zito scoop shop are options like Tres Leches Snickerdoodle, made with a rich base of three types of milk: cow’s milk, condensed milk and goat’s milk and enhanced with a strawberry snickerdoodle cookies. The flavor was featured on the “Food Network” and voted a “Perfect 10” by John Harrison, inventor of “Cookies & Cream” ice cream.
A vegan flavor, Marvelous Mrs. Hazel, was recognized as the third-best non-dairy ice cream in the country at ConeCon. It features a chocolate-hazelnut base with notably sized chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough.
Guests will also be able to enjoy Animal Frosting, an ice cream boasting a sugar cookie cream base, bits of Mother’s Original Frosted Circus Animal Cookies, pillows of handmade ganache frosting, rainbow sprinkles and a garnish of even more sprinkles and a whole animal cookie on top.
Savory menu items will include the Bebe Burger, a beef and bacon patty topped with American cheese, special sauce, Grandma Connie’s pickles and lettuce; and square beer-battered white cheddar cheese curds.
On the chicken side, there’s the Honey Butter Chicken Sammy which features a buttermilk-fried chicken thigh topped with honey butter special sauce, Grandma Connie’s pickles and lettuce served on a potato bun; and Honey Butter Chicken Tendies, two honey butter-sauced tendies served with a side of fries, coleslaw and special sauce with a toasted bun.
Be sure to keep your eye on 3rd Street Market Hall as well as Bebe Zito’s Facebook and Instagram feeds for opportunities to attend sneak peek tasting events as the Bebe Zito team works up to their official opening at the food hall.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
