Courtesy: Kia Karlen via Facebook
The Willy Street Blog followed live a recent performance of Yid Vicious and The Sockrates Sock Puppet Carnival of Morals and Logic read Letters to the Willy Street Co-op Reader at Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse on May 31, 2014. Here is what happened…
Mike Swain, a Madison Radicals defender and U.S. Army veteran ,appreciates his fandom.
While Madison tries hard to support its professional sports teams for as long as they exist; I believe, after attending my first American Ultimate Disc League game recently, that the Madison Radicals may be the truest form of social and sporting expression that this city can make.
For as long as I can remember, warm sunny days in any Madison park, but surely James Madison, have fostered the fertile natural and native talent of disc players, much like hockey seemingly grows from the soil of Minnesota. As amatuer teams still thrive in this city, its deep bench is also able to stack a strong group of “paid” players that almost won the professional league championship last year.
My first Radicals game two weeks ago (May 9) was at Breese Stevens Field, a glorious historic stadium that the City of Madison has steadfastly has committed to keeping active, mostly through soccer tournaments.
The cocktail lounge slated to open at 1380 Williamson now has a name, Imaginary Bar. One of its missions is to cater to dinner patrons waiting for tables next door at Grampa’s Pizzeria (background).
A unique event Sunday (May 18) at Osteria Papvero will celebrate the Italian ritual tradition of Aperitivo or pre-dinner, while debuting possible food and drink offerings planned for Imaginary Bar which will open later this year at 1380 Williamson Street.
Aperitivo emanates from the latin word meaning “to open” and for Italians means consuming light culinary fare such as nuts, olives, cheeses, and meats along with a dry vermouth, campari or other light liquor. This combination is meant to get your stomach rumbling and ready for a larger meal later on.
In a sense, Your Imaginary Papa: An Aperitivo Social plans to open the curtain a bit on the customer experience one might expect at Imaginary Bar, which is intended to be an apertivo-like experience for people waiting to dine next door at Grampa’s Pizzeria.
Players Sport Bar (left) and Burrito Drive were robbed recently through the same combination of guns and a chemical irritant sprayed on the victims.
Madison Police are saying they believe that two armed robberies in the last three days on the Near East Side are related. Late Sunday night (May 4) at 10:50 p.m. two men wearing masks and carrying handguns stole cash from Burrito Drive, a restaurant near the corner of Brearly and Williamson Streets.
Last night (May 6) at 12:40 a.m. two men (one was armed with a handgun) with a similar general description entered Players Sport Bar & Grill on Winnebago east of Schenk’s Corners, ordered all employees and patrons to floor and stole an undisclosed amount of money. The strongest tie between the two robberies aside from the number of assailants and weapons was the use of a chemical irritant which was sprayed on victims during the incident.
The Taste of Willy Street is a local culinary event not to be missed that showcases more than a dozen neighborhood food businesses and includes everything from appetizers to desserts. Due to the popularity of this event, there will be two seatings: 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm. Tickets are now only available at the door and seating is limited, so don’t delay!
The Greater Williamson Area Business Association and Common Wealth Development’s Youth Programs are collaborating to present the 13th annual Taste of Willy Street on Tuesday, May 6 at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street. This is an annual fundraising event for GWABA that also greatly benefits Common Wealth Development’s Youth Programs.
The makings of a public space, spurred on by the opening of Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream’s new Atwood Avenue location. Photo by: Marsha Rummel
By all accounts the opening weekend for Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream’s Atwood Avenue location was a great success. Lines of people were observed in front of the shop no doubt encouraged by a very clever social media post Friday (May 3): “We’re opening our walk up window and serving single cones and dishes at 2302 Atwood Avenue at 12pm today!! And just a hint, if you stop by before 9pm you may not need a wallet…”
By Sunday warm temperatures and sunshine brought out the bicycles and soon every piece of open grass around the store was occupied by ice cream fans. “It was fabulous,” said Josh Connelly, retail and marketing manager for Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream. “The neighborhood welcomed us with open arms to say the least.”
Connelly says that work will begin this week on construction and landscaping of the rear area of the property to transform it into an outdoor dining room with tables, chairs, lighting, and bike racks. For Sixth District Alder Marsha Rummel, the apparent initial success of this business on this corner will bolster her plans to temporarily shut down a section of Jackson Street, between Atwood and Saint Paul Avenue, as part of a national movement called “placemaking.”
The proposed six-story multi-family and commercial development at 702 Williamson. Courtesy: The Rifkin Group, LTD.
The Marquette Neighborhood Association is opposing the height of a proposed commercial and multi-family development at 702-706 Williamson Street. The Rifkin Group, Ltd., which owns the current structure on the property is seeking permission from the City of Madison to demolish the building and build a six story one in its place with commercial use on the first floor and sixty (60) apartments above.
As with its central objection to the height of the 722 Williamson project, MNA said in a letter to the Landmarks Commission that the massing of the proposed buildings on this block do not fit within the BUILD II plan created by the neighborhood and threatens to block out residential views of the capitol building.
The proposed demolition and development is on the agenda for this afternoon’s (May 5) City of Madison Landmarks Commission meeting.