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A new chain pizza restaurant is slated to open soon in the Kenilworth Building, 1903 E. Kenilworth Pl., on the corner of Farwell Avenue, on Milwaukee's East Side.
Whitewater-based Toppers Pizza is expected to open in early November and work on the space continues. Other tenants in the UWM-owned student housing building include American Apparel, Anytime Fitness, Urban Outfitters, Esselle and UWM's inova art gallery.
Toppers opened its first restaurant in Champaign, Ill., in 1991 and it now has locations in seven states including 14 Wisconsin eateries and two more -- one in Racine and the new Milwaukee location -- on the way. Although some locations are franchised, the Milwaukee location will be owned by the company.
There are also Toppers restaurants in Franklin, Greenfield and Wauwatosa.
In addition to pizzas, Toppers serves wings, quesadillas, Topperstix (cheesy bread sticks) and sub sandwiches, which it calls grinders.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
