For about three months one summer between semesters in college, I worked as a server at The Chancery in Wauwatosa. The eatery was known for its fried chicken, fish frys, mac and cheese and, at the Tosa location, plentiful popcorn, delivered warm to each table. (I remember because it was my job to sweep up all the popcorn that landed on the floor.)
Perhaps it was the neverending sweeping and the dread of cleaning the popcorn machine every night, but I didn't last long at The Chancery. Which brings us to this week's episode of Urban Spelunking. This week we're at Tosa's Vedetta Coffee, which is located inside the former Chancery's Del Monte bar, a gorgeous location I didn't even recognize at first even though I worked there. (Must have been too focused on the sweeping.)
The star of the space is the bar itself. Crafted of mahogany, birch and oak, the bar dates back to 1906 when it was originally installed in Chicago. It was disassembled, restored and relocated to Milwaukee, and still looks as incredible as it did a century ago.
Now it serves as the main service counter for Vendetta Coffee, a coffee house offering traditional Italian espresso and coffee drinks. Listen to the episode below, and visit OnMilwaukee.com for this week's complete written by Bobby Tanzilo.
