When this year’s Milwaukee Film Fest winds down (on May 4), it won’t be the only thing coming to a close. Egg & Flour Pasta Bar’s run at Milwaukee Film’s neighbor, Crossroads Collective food hall (2238 N. Farwell Ave.), is ending too. The restaurant owned by chef Adam Pawlak – that memorable season 19 contestant on reality TV show “Hell’s Kitchen” – was one of Crossroads’s original vendors, opening in 2019.
Pawlak shared his news on social media and insists there is no drama. “It’s just time,” he says. “We [are] ready to move on. It’s been four years and food halls are meant to be food incubators.” These entities, which help startups get off the ground by providing a shared kitchen and other resources, are typically not long-term arrangements. “We’re leaving on good terms. We want them to do well,” says Pawlak.
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In 2020, the bearded, carb-crafting chef opened a stand-alone location in Bay View that also focuses on handmade pastas. That location will continue to operate. Pawlak will move Crossroads staff down to Bay View, including his brother Alex, who currently manages the Crossroads spot.
Pawlak’s other endeavors – including a cooking class series at Milwaukee Public Market – have continued to keep him stretched. Just having the Bay View location “is like being an executive chef again. The biggest thing is my staff is excited to have me there more.”
He talks possibilities – menu specials, changes to the beverage program. “We’re really meant to be a boutique pasta spot. Cheap and good. I want to get back to that.”
No special menu items are planned for the remaining days at Crossroads. “We just want to finish it out,” he says, and give locals a good spot to stop before and after the film festival.
