Kickshaw, billed as "American cuisine with a global influence" is set to open in the former Good Times and Fitch's Chophouse space on McKee Road in Fitchburg. The site, though convenient to Star Cinema and the growing retail area near Target, has yet to find a good match.
General manager and part owner Kelli Keyzers thinks that Fitchburg has a need for more "options in dining," and that Kickshaw caters to a "more mature crowd" who may be interested in kicking back and relaxing with good food and drink. Music is being planned for Friday nights.
Kickshaw will be serving dinner and doing in-house and off-the-premises catering. The room that was the "game room" during the Good Times era has been transformed into an event room for rehearsal dinners, award ceremonies, networking get-togethers and the like -- even a place for "man-functions" (poker?).
And Kickshaw aims to kickoff on the night of the big kickoff, the showdown of the century between the Vikings and the Packers on Monday, Oct. 5. No pressure!
Kickshaw will be serving dinner; there will also be a special chef's menu which will change monthly. These will be a chance for chef Colin Beaumier to "take on more of a fine dining approach," says Keyzers. Like the rest of the menu, these meals will be kept at "a reasonable price point" but chef's menu features will differ in price from month to month depinding on ingredients. Chef Beaumier has previously worked at the Whitehall Hotel in Chicago and is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Fans of Milwaukee dining will be interested to learn that Beaumier has cooked at Coquette Cafe and Sanford and opened Cafe Fabrika (as well as Barbette in Minneapolis).
The standard menu will showcase appetizers, soup and salad and entrees ranging from $13-$29, from Trio Cheese & Macaroni to a 14 oz. bone-in ribeye. Desserts include a flaming wild berry clafoutis and a Wisconsin cheese board.
The chef's menu has three appetizers and three entrees; there's also a three-course prix fixe wich will be available Monday-Thursday for $30. Inaugural entrees will be muscovy duck breast, an "unconventional" bouillabaisse, and a beef duo of hanger steak and braised short rib.
