How Monroe Street Businesses Build on Local Connections

Walk the 1800 and 1900 blocks of Monroe Street on a Tuesday evening this August and you'll pass a bakery with flour still on the counter, a French bistro with the lights just coming up for dinner service, and at least one storefront with paper still taped over the glass. Storefronts change over time, and recent openings and closures offer one way to see how Monroe Street evolves.

The Space That Turned Over After a Year

In the summer of 2024, a new farm-to-table pub called One & Only opened in the former Brasserie V spot, promising burrata panzanella salad, burgers and fries for the near west side's dinner crowd. It had the ingredients of a hit: a good location, a concept built for the neighborhood's tastes, an ambitious opening. By August 2025, it had shuttered, a little over a year after it opened its doors.

One & Only's closure is one example of change along Monroe Street. The other examples here involve businesses with experience or an existing following.

Businesses Bringing Existing Experience

Compare that to the openings that have actually stuck since. Alimentari, the Italian American deli known for its sandwiches and house-made ravioli, opened a second location at 2623 Monroe St. in early 2025. It wasn't a new concept testing the waters. It was an already-proven deli from Willy Street bringing its existing following west, doubling its footprint rather than starting from zero.

Turkish Kitchen did something similar the year before, relocating its kabobs and hummus from South Gammon Road to a Monroe Street storefront in a move reported at the time by Madison Magazine. Same business, same recipes, same regulars following it to a new address. No cold start required.

Even the newest addition just off the corridor follows the pattern. A bagel vendor that built a loyal following at the Monroe Street Farmers Market spent seasons selling out of a folding table before opening its first brick-and-mortar on Speedway Road this summer, a few blocks from the market stall where it earned its name. The storefront wasn't a bet. It was a graduation.

Each brought an existing connection to Monroe Street: a second location, a relocation, or a following built at the farmers market.

The Former One & Only Space Changes Hands

The clearest version of this pattern showed up last fall, and it involves the same block where One & Only failed. Annemarie Maitri, who owns Bloom Bake Shop and the French bistro Lallande, purchased the former One & Only space at 1923 Monroe St., right next door to her other two businesses. The plan, as of last fall: expand Bloom's bakery production and open a new restaurant concept in the space come spring, with Maitri telling reporters she wasn't ready to share all the details yet.

The transaction is one example of change on the corridor; its calendar offers another.

Community Events and Local Partnerships

Monroe Street's calendar also features community events and local partnerships. First Fridays happen from 4 to 7 p.m. on the first Friday of every month, with participating shops staying open late and rotating pop-ups, live music and specials. From June through September, those evenings get an extra layer: Music by the Water, sponsored by the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association and Wingra Boats, brings kids' activities from the Monroe Street Art Center from 5 to 6 p.m. and a live band from 6 to 8 p.m. down at Wingra Park.

Each First Friday, Orange Tree Imports picks a local nonprofit and donates 20 percent of its sales to it. In July, that spotlight went to the Madison Savoyards, the local Gilbert and Sullivan troupe, timed to the opening of their production of "The McAdo" on July 31.

What's Left on the Calendar

If you want to see what's on Monroe Street's calendar before summer wraps up, here's what's left:

• September 4 — the last First Friday of the Music by the Water season at Wingra Park, before the June-through-September run wraps for the year.
• Later in September — the 47th annual Monroe Street Festival, running the 1600 to 2600 blocks with sidewalk sales, food and drink specials, and a lineup of businesses that includes Mystery to Me, Orange Tree Imports, Garth's Brew Bar, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream and a booth from the Monroe Street Farmers Market itself.

The Monroe Street Festival has been part of Monroe Street's fall calendar for 47 years.

What This Actually Means If You Live Here

The examples here include businesses opening a second location, relocating to Monroe Street, and a market vendor opening a nearby storefront after building a following. The calendar also includes recurring community events.

That's useful to know the next time you're deciding whether a new spot is worth the walk, and it's the kind of detail that only comes from actually paying attention to a neighborhood over time rather than skimming a listing description. That's the same instinct we bring to the neighborhoods we work in every day at Madison Lifestyle. If you're curious what else is shifting along Monroe Street, in Vilas, or anywhere else in the Madison area, give us a call or text. Let's talk neighborhoods.