Alderman Plans To Open Maid-Rite Restaurant

Growing up in Iowa, Alderman Vance Skinner spent time with his family eating at an “eclectic” franchise restaurant, a place he described as a “community hangout” where he drank malts and ate the business’s signature loose meat sandwich.

That’s one of the reasons Skinner and his partner, Brendan Barrett, plan to open a Waukesha franchise of Maid-Rite – a business that started in 1926. Skinner will handle the operations of the restaurant, which will be located at the corner of West Moreland Boulevard and Delafield Street in the same building as

“Growing up with this product, it is something I can stand behind and actually talk about because I have eaten it for many years,” Skinner said.

The two will start small for now – they plan to have 34 seats in the building with some tables on the patio outside during the summer. But depending on the restaurant’s successes, they could expand in other locations in the area. They hope to open the business in mid-July with a grand opening in August.

While keeping an eclectic style and tying the 1950s elements, they also want to include elements of Waukesha’s rich music and art history into the building.

“We are very much trying to make it a strong community space,” Skinner said.

While keeping the signature Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich, the restaurant will feature Maid-Rite’s new menu, which is not yet on the national website, according to Skinner.

The two owners began to talk about opening the business in December and visited a restaurant with the new menu in February.

“We were just ecstatic when we went down and visited one of the new locations and got to sample the new menu,” Skinner said. “It was even better than what we had hoped.”

Barrett and Skinner looked for three months to find a perfect location – one that was close to downtown Waukesha but would meet other criteria.

“We wanted to be in a neighborhood, and there is a neighborhood right there,” Skinner said. “People can walk there and eat ice cream out on the patio. There is also a lot of businesses in that area, including the clinic across the street, the courthouse and the industrial park. That is ultimately why we chose it.”

Employment Opportunities, Social Media Accounts

Maid-Rite is hiring and is looking for employees, Skinner said, and he is looking to interview “fun people who are interested.”

They also have social media accounts for more updates:

• Maid-Rite on Facebook
• Maid-Rite on Twitter