El Viejon, a Mexican seafood vendor known for ceviche and clamato drinks, is looking to drop anchor on Milwaukee’s south side, trading in a corner store for a small sit-down spot with bar seating and a seafood-heavy menu. The team is eyeing a tentative March opening, although neighbors and city licensing staff have already raised red flags about liquor concentration and the site’s proximity to other sensitive uses, any of which could stall the project before it ever opens its doors, as reported by Urban Milwaukee.
What the application says
According to Urban Milwaukee, the license application lists Martin Cecena Zavala as the operator and outlines a menu built around ceviche, aguachile, clamatos preparados and sharable charola platters, along with tostitos topped with pickled pork and other snacks. Plans on file show bar stools paired with a modest dining area, with proposed operating hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. The filing estimates that about 40 percent of revenue would come from alcohol sales, and it does not attach a full list of planned alcoholic beverages.
Site history and past licensing fights
The building at 2121 S. 16th St. has long functioned as a neighborhood convenience store, and a separate 2024 license attempt for a different operator at the same address already put the block under a microscope for its density of alcohol sellers. City records show a Licenses Committee hearing where staff highlighted a 300-foot proximity issue, and aldermen moved to deny or hold that earlier request, according to Milwaukee Common Council records. Those minutes indicate that the same proximity and concentration concerns are poised to frame the debate over El Viejon’s proposal as well.
Menu, model and the buffer question
On paper, the current application pitches El Viejon as a food-forward operation that relies on shared seafood dishes rather than a stand-alone bar. Even so, its alcohol plan is part of what has drawn attention. Urban Milwaukee reports that the applicant says the address falls outside Milwaukee’s 300-foot buffer from a church, school, day care or hospital. The same report notes that Google Maps puts the front entrance at roughly 240 feet from Iglesia Redimidos en Cristo. That distance, paired with the forecast that 40 percent of sales would be alcohol, is exactly the sort of detail the Licenses Committee tends to pick apart.
How the city evaluates applications
Any business that wants to sell alcohol in Milwaukee must first clear the City Clerk’s License Division, and in many cases appear before the Licenses Committee, where aldermen, city staff and nearby residents can raise objections or seek conditions. The License Division’s public guidance walks applicants through the required forms, possible hearings and what happens after a decision is made, including wait times before a denied applicant can try again. For a step-by-step overview and rules on filing objections, would-be operators and neighbors can consult the City Clerk — License Division.
Legal and licensing implications
The Licenses Committee’s 2024 decision on this stretch of S. 16th Street shows that members are willing to vote no when they believe an application conflicts with the city’s ordinances or worsens alcohol overconcentration. Those minutes document denial motions that leaned on the 300-foot rule for nearby addresses. With El Viejon projecting about 40 percent of its revenue from alcohol, the operator may need to show that food sales are clearly primary, or that bar service will be more limited than a typical package-goods business, in order to qualify for any exception that might apply. The prior committee record is likely to loom large when the new proposal comes up for review…