 Summer of 2023 has given rise to a number of new restaurant concepts in the Green Bay area, and among the newest of these is Vintage Rose Bakery and Sandwich Shop in Lawrence. A short jog off the Scheuring Road exit on I-41, it’s not in the first place I’d think to find breakfast. Most of the businesses in this portion of Lawrence are corporate centers and manufacturing, less so restaurants and shopping. Vintage Rose fills a necessary role for some of the local neighborhoods, however: local coffee and housemade food. Vintage Rose sports a large sign along Mid Valley Drive to help you find it, so if you find yourself on the hunt like I was on a chilly Monday morning, you should be fine. Trust the sign. The building looks like it ought to be more offices, but there’s food in there. I promise.
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 The Wednesday Night Farmer’s Market on Broadway has a variety of food stalls to try each week, but sometimes, one just wants to sit down inside and watch the world go by in the window while they have dinner. Pho Coma on Broadway allows you to do just that if you circle their food stall on the block and enter the building for a bowl of their delicious noodles. I had the pleasure of hosting a friend from Kansas this past week, and he hadn’t had the opportunity for a bowl of Pho (his favorite meal) in years. Green Bay has no shortage of places to get Pho. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat at Pho Coma that evening as the rain threatened to drop on us during our visit to the farmer’s market. Pho Coma has a relatively small store front compared to some of the other restaurants along Broadway. Their stall out front diverts some of the traffic you’d likely see on a normal day at the shop, and therefore we were able to have our pick of tables after putting in our order. A bowl of pho and crab rangoons was certainly enough for us, and we ordered from their custom drink menu two pomegranate lemonades.
 The Cannery recently reopened in their new test kitchen format on Broadway, and this past weekend, I visited the morning concepts after the Saturday Morning Market to get in early. Entering from the Fox River side of the building that also contains Titletown Brewery and Voyageur Sourdough can lead to an experience not unlike trying to get through a maze. The Broadway entrance is far less difficult, however, and leads right into the location.
All concepts operate out of the same kitchen, so when I arrived at about 10 am, most of the kitchen staff was already hard at work preparing for their opening or serving the breakfast crowd that came into visit. A tablet setup is available at the center of the room for you to put in your order with the kitchen tenants, key in your phone number, and when your order is ready, you receive a text message letting you know that your order is at the window.
If you’re running around Broadway earlier in the day and looking for something new to try among the many delicious breakfast and brunch options, check out Honey + Cream Cafe in the Cannery to support a growing food business.
Check back soon for more Cannery reviews!  April 7th, a bad crash on I-41 diverted my plans for the afternoon with detour traffic that could make the most patient driver’s head spin. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I pulled about a block or two off the detour route I decided on to stop into the De Pere location of local sandwich chain, Scott’s Subs. They’ve expanded into Green Bay East and Hobart in the last few years, but despite that growth, I never made it in for a sandwich.
Turning a bad afternoon into a better one with a decent sandwich sounded like a great idea. The De Pere location was smack in the middle of an unusual area for a restaurant, but it got me out of the detour traffic taking over the Lawrence area. I was surprised to see that more of the folks caught in the slow moving traffic away from the I-41 accident that afternoon hadn’t done the same. The De Pere location offers sandwiches and pizzas made in house as well as ice creams from a few Wisconsin producers. I kept it simple with a Turkey Avocado sandwich and a bag of buffalo chicken wing potato chips. While I waited, however, I got a craving for the ice cream that I saw several other customers order in the meantime. I took a pint of Kemps Cake and Ice Cream home with me, and I found in that short amount of time, I was able to chart a path home through the detour traffic that didn’t take much longer than usual.  Sunday afternoon is a busy time in downtown De Pere. The city’s restaurants are all full– especially with the weather being on the warmer side compared to most of March. I arrived at the building that Brickhouse shares with Julie’s Cafe to find that there wasn’t a single parking spot available in the lot. I considered it a good sign for the meal I would have inside the doors, so I found another spot in the downtown area to walk back down to the restaurant. During the height of the pandemic, I ordered a burger for delivery from Brickhouse, so I had some idea of what to expect. Big burgers and tasty fries were still fresh in my memory. Little did I know that they developed a rotating monthly menu that included a limited offering poutine, burger, and sandwich. On another visit, I would love to try the buffalo chicken poutine. This visit wasn’t that visit, however.
 Sweet Willow Herbal Wellness was a welcome addition to downtown De Pere– sustainability options for everything from your laundry detergent to reusable kitchen wraps. And for whatever reason, I didn’t make it down there as much as I wanted to at their old location. Little did I know that their business evolved to include vegan and vegetarian dining options for carry out and delivery over the years. Their new location just across the river has allowed them to further expand those options.
The Grand Re-Opening at the new location took place on an overcast, but pleasantly cool Wisconsin morning. I arrived to find a full house of eager diners and shoppers packed in from wall to wall. A number of free samples for visitors were available in the new cafe area, and I helped myself to several of them while I surveyed the cold cases.
The first true Fall morning of September, I bravely got in my car to drive down to Kaukauna to enjoy the Produce with Purpose Open House. I turned away from the Green Bay Farmer’s Market early in the morning when I had a strong sense of purpose. That sense of purpose didn’t last long. I hate driving. I have several chronic health issues that sometimes make me scared to leave town on my own.
It scared me so much I spent the entire drive to Kaukauna having a panic attack, and I pulled into the downtown area in search of a nice breakfast to help me come down. I stumbled upon Sticky Fingers Cafe, open early enough for someone like me just trying to find a comforting meal and a safe place to relax. When I found them, two other people were on their way out with coffee in hand.
No one was ignorant of what they were about to eat. McKayla Marie Sweets attended several events in town, spreading the anticipation over the summer– and it worked. I’ve attended many openings like this since I started writing for this blog, but I can’t recall this level of anticipation in a crowd. It spoke highly of the mind behind the product.
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