So much is happening this week, the last days of August 2018. The grounds of the old Pabst Brewing Company are hops-ing, er, hopping, with the soft opening of Milwaukee Brewing Company’s MKE 9th Street location. (Festivities are scheduled through Sept. 2, with the grand opening set for Sept. 15.)

This is part of a much larger revitalization project on the Pabst grounds. The brewery and the new beer hall-style restaurant, Glass + Griddle (1130 N. Ninth St.) are both inside a redeveloped building called The 42, which was formerly used as a Pabst warehouse. The restaurant opened Aug. 29, along with the brewery’s soft opening festivities. Creating and executing the culinary side of Glass + Griddle are executive chef Kyle Toner (who ran the kitchen at the late Wolf Peach) and chef de cuisine Daniel Pope, late of Miller Time Pub & Grill. (Incidentally, Pope’s beer-cheese soup recipe appeared in our “Eat Like a Wisconsinite” feature.) 

Photo of half-chicken by Nick Kudrys

The tenor of the menu has “beer companion” written all over it, encompassing things like snacks and shares, burgers and sandwiches, salads and veggies, and larger plates (prices from $3 up to $28). Some examples: beer-poached shrimp with cocktail sauce; disco fries topped with Italian beef, giardiniera and fresh mozzarella; Korean fried chicken wings; cucumber apple salad with fennel, radish and yogurt ranch dressing; grilled jerk chicken sandwich with pineapple relish and green onion mayo; half-pound burger with beer cheese and sun-dried tomato ketchup; seared lasagna and Strauss hanger steak with chimichurri and fried potatoes. 

Lamb merguez burger photo by Nick Kudrys

Hours during opening weekend are noon-1 a.m. Closed Mon and Tues, Sept. 3 and 4, reopening on Wed, Sept. 5: Kitchen hours are 4-10 p.m.; bar open until 1 a.m. Lunch service will be added in the coming weeks. Also to come, a raw bar with fresh-shucked oysters.

An open-air rooftop beer garden is tentatively scheduled to open in spring 2019.