New life for Firehouse Restaurant

Bouyed by his success with a new restaurant in Cedar Grove, Felipe Saavedra wants to bring his brand of authentic Mexican cuisine to the long-vacant Firehouse Restaurant in Saukville.

Saavedra recently opened Casa Imelda in Cedar Grove, which has proved popular.

Saavedra lives in Milwaukee, and on the drive north to his restaurant, he thought Saukville offered a good opportunity.

“There aren’t many authentic Mexican restaurants here,” said Saavedra, who moved to the United States from Mexico 28 years ago.

In addition, Saavedra said he plans on adding more traditional American fare, including Friday night fish fries.

He also plans to keep the Firehouse name, since the restaurant is a well-known location, just adding the word Mexican to it.

Saavedra hopes to open his new restaurant at 100 W. Main St. by May 1, though the coronavirus outbreak could interfere with that, he acknowledged.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said last week at the restaurant, which is undergoing remodeling with new carpet and paint, reflecting a south of the border motif.

He plans to keep the central bar and use a large back room for parties, receptions and meetings for business and community groups.

He said he also wants to expand the outdoor patio.

Saavedra will get help running the restaurant from his brother-in-law, Manuel Arias. Arias moved from Tennessee last year to join Saavedra after working 12 years as a chef.

Saavedra’s recipes are based on those of his mother, who taught him how to cook, he said.

Saavedra worked at Mexican restaurants in California and Chicago before starting a landscaping business in Milwaukee. 

The Firehouse is so named because the building was the village’s firehouse until the current fire station was built on the village’s west side.