The East Side’s Makk N Cheese/Juana Taco Combo Is Closed » Urban Milwaukee

Site of Makkn’nCheese/Juana Taco, 2911 N. Oakland Ave. Photo taken Dec. 21, 2023 by Graham Kilmer.

Makk’n’Cheese/Juana Taco has closed after a two-year run on Milwaukee’s East Side. The dual-concept restaurant is one of several establishments to have recently shuttered in the area, along with Cafe Terrazza and Baccara.

Opened in December 2021, the fast-casual restaurant served Mexican cuisine such as tacos and American dishes like mac and cheese, as well as fusion fare including elote mac and a birria-stuffed grilled cheese sandwich.

Owners Gregory Kieckbusch and Marcos Ramos-Garcia did not formally announce the closure, but the restaurant has been marked permanently closed online, its website taken down and its phone number disconnected. The building, 2911 N. Oakland Ave., is available to rent.

The closure marks the end of an era for the macaroni and cheese concept, which once operated two locations and shared plans for future expansion.

Ramos-Garcia opened the original Makk’n’Cheese in Bay View in 2020, but later closed the restaurant to focus on Blind Tiger, a speakeasy-inspired nightclub that operated in the same space.

Both Bay View businesses officially shuttered earlier this year. The space, 2242 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., is now home to Pink Agave, a cocktail bar.

Although its stand-alone locations are no more, some of Makk’n’Cheese’s most popular dishes live on at 3rd Street Market Hall. Kieckbusch, in partnership with Tim Szuta, debuted a new concept, Rod & Makk at the food hall earlier this year. The restaurant serves loaded macaroni and cheese bowls and oversized mozzarella sticks.

Kieckbusch and Ramos-Garcia previously co-owned KRS Hospitality, LLC with Francisco Sandino-Badillo. The group also operated Mangos Cafe (Sandino-Badillo is now the sole owner) and the now-closed Points View Boîte.

An affiliate of Sofee Properties Ltd. Partnership is the owner of the East Side building, which is also home to Cheba Hut, a marijuana-themed sandwich shop. Good Land Wing Co. previously operated in the Juana restaurant space. Before that, Cold Stone Creamery operated at the address.

The closure of Makk’n’Cheese/Juana Taco is just one of a series of changes along N. Oakland Avenue near UW-Milwaukee. Earlier this week, Urban Milwaukee reported that both Cafe Terrazza and Baccara, a pizza restaurant and bar, are permanently closed.

Meanwhile, the neighborhood is gearing up to welcome a new restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings GO, on Friday, Dec. 22.