Lucky Joe's Alchemy & Eatery in Wauwatosa is 'new-school cocktail bar with an old school feel'

When business owners Lee Guk, Frank Harroun and Chad Polczynski began working on interior designs for Lucky Joe's Alchemy & Eatery, they started with a blank slate.

Guk and Polczynski have been friends for about 20 years, having met in high school, and when they met Harroun about four years ago, they all decided to go into business together.

On track to open July 23, the venue is located where One Way Cafe once stood at 1427 Underwood Ave., in Wauwatosa's Village. The three men removed everything with any affiliation to the former cafe and started fresh to create an eatery with a speakeasy feel.

"It's bits and pieces from places I've been in," said Guk, who traveled to various cocktail bars in San Diego, Chicago, San Francisco and Las Vegas to help create a concept of his own.

"It's a new-school cocktail bar with an old school feel."

The atmosphere

Walking into the joint, you're greeted with a black-and-white checkered dining area floor, a set of booths on the right and a large bar with leather seats on the left. Behind the bar, arching wooden cabinetry house an extensive assortment of liquor.

Warm-colored paints in shades of deep orange and maroon fill the walls and elaborate chandeliers hang from the ceiling, which is comprised of tiles that appear copper-plated.

"I pretty much knew what I wanted going in," said Guk, who also operates Lucky Joe's Tiki Room in downtown Milwaukee.

The menu

Specializing in craft cocktails and small plate food and snacks, Lucky Joe's Alchemy & Eatery plans to switch up its menu quarterly, Guk said.

The cocktail menu will include "five classics, five brand-new house cocktails that we create and five borrowed that we're going to have other bartenders (from the area) submit to our bar," Guk said.

Harroun, who handles the food side of things, said customers can expect his menu to change seasonally, too. He plans to include in-season, local products into his dishes, which are all inspired from different cocktails.

"I don't want (customers) to have the expectation that they're coming here for a meal," he said, adding that the venue will only serve small plates.

Harroun has previously worked as a chef in other restaurants, including The Noble in Milwaukee.

"We feel very honored to open up a business in the Village of Wauwatosa," Guk said. "It's kind of where we've always wanted to be."

Lucky Joe's Alchemy & Eatery will serve food from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays, noon to 1 a.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to midnight Sundays. The owners haven't yet determined if they'll continue to serve drinks until bar close.