After recently catering a family's third bar mitzvah, Hannah Sattler, owner of Hannah's Kitchen in Milwaukee, realized her business offers more than food.
“It's about getting to know each other,” she says. “You become part of the family. You celebrate with them.”
Sattler's nine-year-old establishment is one of the few in Milwaukee and the state that serves kosher and traditional Jewish dishes, including matzah ball soup, challah and knishes.
“These are really traditional foods that you don't find in the Milwaukee area,” Sattler said. “We get requests from outside the area for things they find out east and in bigger cities.”
In addition to her catering business, Sattler also runs Café Be Data at the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, which serves a variety of dishes including soups, salads, sandwiches and pizza.
“Our goal is to make food that's kosher and really tasty,” she said. “As a Jewish community, food is what brings us together, not necessarily whether it's kosher or not.”
This summer, Cafa B Data is offering themed menus on Wednesdays featuring a variety of cuisines, including Mexican and Chinese.
“It's a way to provide other foods to people who keep a kosher diet that they might not necessarily be able to eat,” she said, “and give them the opportunity to try different foods.”
The cafe is open on Wednesdays from 11am to 7pm and other weekdays from 11am to 3pm.
Since Oct. 7, the cafe has become a gathering place for grieving people, Sattler said, and at first, the cafe's business dropped.
“People were grieving and we were busy acting out as a community rather than spending time together,” Sattler said.
This summer, Hannah's Kitchen will also cater for the Republican Jewish Coalition during its national convention. Sattler also plans to extend the cafe's hours and serve kosher food during the convention in July, as well as fulfill individual requests from convention-goers in the city.
“I'm really excited about it. It's an opportunity to be involved in showcasing our city and our community and making sure our community is advocated for on both sides, which is important,” she said.
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