Crafty Cow Tosa (6519 W. North Ave.) – opening Thursday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. – is the third restaurant in the Crafty family, with locations in Oconomowoc and Bay View. Like its siblings, the Tosa location, which occupies the former Hue Restaurant, specializes in Juicy Lucy-style burgers and chicken sandwiches.
Co-owner Devin Eichler says Tosa has been on the radar since before they opened their resto in Bay View (2675 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) in 2017. They just couldn’t find the right space. With these North Avenue digs, they’ve got 80-some seats between the dining area and the bar. There’s also a patio seating close to 40 people. And one other spot of interest, a 20-seat room called The Barn, which they plan to rent out for private events. It is shared with another storefront, Copper Robin, which Eichler’s wife, Simone Gaspar, hopes to open by the end of 2021. Copper Robin is a lifestyle collective highlighting women-owned businesses.
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The menu is very similar to what’s offered at its sibling restaurants, but with a few additions. New items on this menu are deep-fried elote bites ($10), the Thai-rrific burger with pulled bacon and Thai peanut sauce ($12), a pork rib sandwich with bacon, bacon jam and snap pea-broccoli slaw ($15.50), and a fried chicken banh mi ($13). Beyond the newbies, they also have 14 kinds of burgers, Southern fried chicken (from 2 to 16 pieces), chicken and waffles, Nashville hot ramen, shawarma naan tacos, loaded cheese curds, wings with with one of 10 sauces or dry rubs, a chicken tahini power bowl and more ($5.50 for tots to $50 for a 16-piece order of fried chicken).
The bar will eventually have a selection of boozy or nonalcoholic Slushies, in addition to the beer, wine and draft cocktails it already serves.
With the sizable space in Tosa, Crafty Cow will host trivia and, at some point, live music, says Eichler.
Open Tuesdays-Sundays. The Tosa location will serve strictly dinner (starting at 4 p.m.) its first week, then add lunch service on Sept. 16 beginning at 11 a.m.
