Listen: The Neighborhood Project is a devoted exploration of Milwaukee, featuring stories on everything from the well-known to the unexpected. When we go into a community and start turning over stones, we never know what we'll unearth -- sometimes, simply walking into a building can feel like passage into an entirely different world (a great example of this from last year -- a boxing gym in the middle of Lincoln Park). So if we're doing things right, we'll be reflexively asking the question "who knew?" fairly regularly. Off Mill Road on 76th Street, the Milwaukee Asian Market has a very humble outside appearance (see photo at the bottom of this post). However, on the inside, there's a remarkable and authentic Asian market. Stall after stall of vendors selling everything from cleaning supplies to cell phones to fresh vegetables to clothes. Check out an introduction to this haven for the growing Hmong population in Havenwoods:
Out takes! In the piece, I gloss over how the market was actually founded. Listen to how the Milwaukee Asian Market came to be:
Sound doesn't really do justice to the rich visual experience waiting for you at the Milwaukee Asian Market. There were so many vendors selling so many different and novel products. Hear about the vendor I found most surprising:
The folks at the market were incredibly hospitable while I stopped by for the interview, providing me with around 10 bottles of water and tea, oranges, baby mangos (!), a delicious coconut bun, and one of those drinks with all the colorful gummy squiggles in it (see above):