The Tandem

08/25/2022

Opening a restaurant costs a LOT 👏 OF 👏 FUH 👏 KING 👏 MONEY 👏 It’s why, when I decided to not reopen the Tandem, it was important to me to give the next tenant a leg up by donating the furnishings and equipment and pots and pans and plates and all that mess to the next small business trying to make it in this industry.

What I didn’t realize, though, was that the headlines and press for this transition would confuse the situation. Instead of lifting up Rosetta Bond and 1700 Pull Up the way I’d hoped it would, it made it seem like she had everything she needed to open the doors and get to cooking. When I hit the bricks and started shopping the idea of the Tandem to this city, I had to raise $100,000 to confidently open the doors to the public with a chance of making it. Six whole figures, and back when the cost of a bag of flour was still a dollar (and that mess was $5 last time I checked)…

Yeah we gave her some stuff and that was a start. But the lift she truly needs now is the one Milwaukee gave me without batting an eye, and it’s dollars and cents. I often joked that I opened the Tandem because I felt I needed to and because I could - because I was white and I talked nice and had a masters degree and those things carry a lot of clout in this city. But the truth of the matter is my nice talk whiteness ain’t s**t if it doesn’t help talk the same support I got into the pockets of the next tenant at 1848 W Fond Du Lac Ave. The end goal of our little social experiment at the restaurant was always to get the spot into the hands of a Black owner who could create jobs, build community, and THRIVE in the best of Milwaukee’s historically Black neighborhoods. So if you had it in you to support us for five years of ups and downs and all arounds, please take that support over to Chef Ro and 1700 Pull Up. Order a plate via their page or email [email protected] for more info on how to donate, invest, and get involved. I’m dying to eat a turkey leg in the new spot and would love to meet you there 🍗❤️✌️

It's a great time to show support for the forthcoming community-driven eatery in the Lindsay Heights Neighborhood.

01/19/2022

The Tandem might be gone, but our mission to help Milwaukee's young people hasn't gone anywhere... If you've met Lydia, you've been touched by her relationship with her two sons and the beauty they bring to Milwaukee. AND SHE NEEDS A CAR OK? Please take a second to read, share, and help us get her into a safe vehicle so she can continue to make strides for herself and her family!

I first met Lydia in the summer of 2018 when she applied for a job at the Tandem. She… Caitlin Cullen needs your support for Help Lydia Get Behind the Wheel!

11/11/2021

Plenty of y'all have been asking, so we hit up our friends at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and they were ON IT!

Help spread some cheer this year by selecting some items from their Holiday Wish List on Amazon between now and December 8th! We loved seeing y'all last year to collect gifts, but since we don't have a building of our own anymore, we are asking folks to ship through the wishlist directly to the folks at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.

Check out the wishlist 👇🏾🎄🎁

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/23XZX88G1LM8O/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex

10/22/2021

Last call for Tandem memories! On Tuesday we will be hearing pitches from the entrepreneur finalists to take over our space at the Historic Wally Schmidt Tavern, and as it turns out, none of them want to keep the Tandem name, just the stuff inside the building! Which means we have a LOT of apparel to get rid of 😂

Stop in to the restaurant this Sunday 10/24 between 10am and noon to grab a hoodie, a shirt, a bandanna, and a last look at the place before it’s someone else’s baby. It’ll be a pay what you may apparel day, and we will use all funds raised to pay for our last month’s energy bills, repair costs (good lord that kitchen window was expensive lol), and all the hard work it took to put this baby to bed one last time.

Oh yeah, and if you make it here early enough to beat the rush, we’ve got some fried chicken seasoning to give away, too 😉

Hope to see y’all then, love you more than ever, MKE ✌🏾❤️🍗

08/17/2021

🚨🚨🚨HEADS UP FROM THE BABES AT UPSTART 🚨🚨🚨

Save the date! September meals registration goes live this Thursday August 19th at 5:30pm on our website Upstartkitchen.org under the "Community Meals" tab set to go live with registration. We will be posting reminders on our Facebook and Instagram to make sure everyone is prepared to register. A reminder that his meal program is only open to Milwaukee county residents.

THANK YOU! For your patience as we get the ball rolling again!

Please DM us or email Micaela at [email protected] with any questions.

08/04/2021

An update from our homies at UpStart Kitchen... They realize there’s been some issues with the meal program and want to make them right! Be sure to follow their page for updates, and stay tuned for an improved UpStart Free Community Meal Program starting up again in September! ❤️❤️❤️

We want to thank everyone for their patience as we transition over Tandem meals. It has been a tremendous learning curve and we want to make things right. We recognize the issues we have had with our meals and delivery services, for that reason we are taking the month of August off to organize ourselves. We will resume meals in September and start registration mid August. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the most up to date updates and news. We will be sure to give everyone enough time to prepare for registration for September meals. Thank you again for your patience as we get the hang of things here at UpStart Kitchen. Stay tuned for updates for September meals and other UpStart News.

Sincerely,
UpStart Kitchen

06/01/2021

School is out for most kiddos in Milwaukee and so is Tandem 20/20 Tutoring! As a big thank you to the crew at Owen’s Place for hosting our program for so long, we will be hosting a pizza party on location at Owen’s from 3-5pm instead of tutoring sessions this week! Come say goodbye to Miss Loretta and Miss Nikita and Lucy and get your bellies full with some junk food, kids - summer is here! 😍

05/25/2021

Sometimes it's the hard work that pays off and sometimes it's the universe who's directing traffic. This is one of those times when it's both. Starting in June, the Tandem will be transitioning our free delivery meal program over to the good people at Upstart Kitchen so we can start getting back to being a restaurant. With the support of the City of Milwaukee, the entrepreneurs at UpStart will flex their culinary muscle to deliver thousands of free meals to Milwaukee residents each month. Registration for the meals will still take place on the Tandem's website for the time being, and June meal registration goes live at 5pm on Thursday, May 27th! You will notice a few extra demographic questions when registering for next month - just know we never share this data with anyone, but instead use the info to better advocate for the long-term success of the program and its participants.

ONE MORE THING: Because of this transition, registration is coming late this month... which means meals will also be late this month. Once you're signed up, you can expect meal deliveries to take place starting the week of June 7th. Thank you for riding with us for this long, we love y'all and can't wait to see you at the restaurant someday soon ❤️✌🏾🍗

04/16/2021

We are mixing it up for May meals! Some of y'all have expressed a desire to pick out your meals in person like the old days, and since the weather is getting warmer, we are cool with that! Sign up starts Monday, April 19th at 5pm! Just be sure to click on PICKUP or DELIVERY when you complete your order ✌🏾

04/02/2021

Sorry folks, but you didn’t win s**t, we got hacked! If you receive this message from an account that looks like this, please report the account as fake to Facebook! This must mean we finally made it to the big time 🤣

03/24/2021

LOOK. It's been a tough year. Things are looking up, but there's a long way to go. Our friends at the World Central Kitchen are stepping up big time and sponsoring a free food giveaway for anyone who might need some extra help this month. And since it's International Women's Month, we are highlighting 23 women-owned businesses for Sunday's Free Food Festival! Just like all our free food programs, we ask that folks take only what you need and only if you’re in need 🙏

The setup is simple - stop by the Sherman Phoenix this Sunday anytime from 12-5pm to load up on ready-to-eat and take-and-bake options for you and your family at each vendor station! Then take that good energy and put it out into the world in your own way! We'll see y'all Sunday 😎✌🏾❤️

03/23/2021

Tired of waiting in line for for March Community Meal Delivery? If you’re on our waitlist, you can pick up meals in person this Friday 11am-4pm and sign up for April meals on our website today! While we still can't add anyone to our delivery routes for March, we have extra meals for in-person pickup on Friday and still have some spots open for April delivery meals... so get after it, cause we all know Wisconsin is fronting and it’s not really spring yet 🙄