Brisa Do Mar, a Mediterranean and Italian restaurant along the Milwaukee River, has quietly closed after a year and a half in business. 

Chef-owner Ramses Alvarez confirmed that, after a busy summer led to a slow September and October, he decided to close his restaurant in early December.

“It was a difficult decision for a lot of reasons. I didn’t want to close,” Ramses said in a phone interview. “The restaurant was so beautiful and the best thing that happened to me, but it was very temperamental. I did everything possible, but we were not successful with trying to make enough revenue for us to say, ‘OK, it’s worth it.’”

The spacious, 300-seat restaurant, located at 509 E. Erie St. in Milwaukee’s Third Ward neighborhood, was previously home to Riverfront Pizzeria Bar & Grille. That restaurant closed in February 2024 after 20 years in the space. 

Alvarez and partner Shannon Rowell opened Brisa Do Mar in its place on May 2, 2024. Just before opening his restaurant, Alvarez, who previously owned Dia Bom in the Crossroads Collective food hall and the Brew’d Burger Shop food truck at Zócalo Food Truck Park, said operating a restaurant in that prime RiverWalk location was an “opportunity of a lifetime.” 

He said the restaurant’s proximity to the river and the Henry Maier Festival Park Summerfest grounds made for very busy summers, with multiple festivals drawing visitors who stopped in. Unfortunately, those busy summers did not translate to winter, when Brisa Do Mar struggled to attract repeat customers.

Brisa Do Mar’s varied menu included Mediterranean-inspired salads, pasta dishes, wood-fired entrees and both Neapolitan and brique-style pizzas, utilizing the wood-fired oven left by Riverfront Pizzeria. It also had 12 draft lines for beer, wine and cider, and served a lineup of specialty cocktails.

In summer, the 274-square-foot riverfront patio was an attraction for diners and boaters who could tie up on adjoining boat slips to dine at the restaurant. 

Alvarez said he is stepping away from the restaurant business to focus on a new creative endeavor: producing Reels and other user-generated content for a digital marketing agency that creates content for restaurants and hotels worldwide.

“I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of our families, friends and guests that walked through our doors and supported us, to all the media in Milwaukee that have shown us so much love,” Ramses said in a statement. “The city of Milwaukee has been very, very good to me, the people here and their kindness.”

“I have spent 27 years in Milwaukee working in the culinary world, feeding Milwaukee families, supporting nonprofit organizations and giving back to the community that received me with arms wide open,” he concluded. “Adios Milwaukee.”

Renner Architects, developers of the Hansen’s Landing building where Brisa Do Mar is located, is seeking a new tenant for the 6,000-square-foot space. Interested parties should call (414) 273-6637. 

This story was updated to add new information.