Last fall, we sat down with Adam Bartoszek, co-owner of Wioletta’s Polish Market, to talk about their plans to establish a new Polish restaurant in South Milwaukee. At the time, there was hope that Wioletta’s Polish Kitchen would be up and running by February of 2025.

“We were patient, but we had to move on,” says Bartoszek today, noting that they took a chance on the property, which had been purchased by their landlord and hoped to make it work. But there were delays and miscommunications, and ultimately the Bartoszeks walked away.

“But then we happened upon an article noting that Applebee’s was shutting down in Oak Creek,” says Bartoszek. “And we were able to scoop it up before it went on the market.” 

The new location at 7135 S. 13th St. in Oak Creek is nearly double the size of the proposed restaurant in South Milwaukee. As a result, what was originally planned to be a counter-service eatery will now be a full-service restaurant.

The new Oak Creek location is also significantly more turn-key. The place needs cleaning and some upkeep, but it has an existing kitchen. So, there should be fewer hurdles to overcome.

Overall, Bartoszek says he’s happy with how things have turned out.

“Sometimes things just work out the way they’re supposed to,” he says, “This is a perfect spot. It’s right off the freeway and close enough to where we are. And we’ll also have our own parking lot. We have licensing and some refreshing to do, but we will be able to get into the space soon to see what needs to be done.” 

As far as the menu that guests can expect, it is likely to include some diversity in the cuisine. After all, the Bartoszeks are from Łódź (pronounced “wooj”) in Central Poland, while the chef they’ve hired for the restaurant hails from the North, where the dishes tend to be heartier. 

That said, Bartoszek says they are likely to serve staples like pierogi, pork cutlets, Polish sausage, soups, goulash and items like ribs, stuffed cabbage and potato pancakes.

If all goes well, he hopes that Wioletta’s Polish Kitchen will be ready to open by October or November. 

Bartoszek says that he and Wioletta are looking forward to bringing authentic Polish food back to the area. But he’s a bit nervous about all the pent-up excitement.

“We want people to have the best experience possible,” he says. “But I’m afraid we’re going to get slammed… I’m hoping we can find a way to fan out the crowds. When we opened the market, we were positively slammed for the first two weeks.”