Bits and Bites: New Taco Shop, Skip Stone Partner

Patrick Brandt, Laura McMahon and Ben McMahon.

Sway This Way to Taqueria La Brisita

A new partnership is coming to Baileys Harbor this summer after Sway brewery announced last month that it would be expanding to take over the former Heirloom Cafe space. That prompted many to wonder what kind of food will be coming out of the kitchen. 

Now we have an answer. Ben and Laura McMahon will be adding a “casual taco shop” called Taqueria La Brisita to the taproom. It will serve tacos and tortas with a “small, focused and sincere” menu served in a style similar to the couple’s other restaurant, Lost Tuk Tuk in Ephraim. 

The idea for the partnership came together quickly after Sway owner Matt Sampson threw out the idea of working together in November. 

“We laughed when he suggested we come do something with his kitchen because there’s just the two of us,” Ben McMahon said. “But then we realized he was serious.”

They’ve tapped their friend Patrick Brandt to run the project. McMahon said he has wanted to work with Brandt for a while, and Brandt – who had worked most recently in the Wickman House kitchen – wanted to branch out and do his own thing. 

They hope to be open in mid-May at the earliest and will be open Tuesday-Saturday. McMahon said the plan is to be open most of the year. 

“It’s a great space to do a focused menu at a reasonable price point,” he said. 

The building will also be familiar to McMahon, taking him back to the location where his family launched Door County Brewing Co. in 2013. 

Familiar Face is New Partner at Skip Stone

Britt Unkefer of Wild Restaurant Concepts has announced that he’s taken on a new business partner at Skip Stone Coffee in Sister Bay: longtime manager Lilly Orozco. 

“It is a partnership with the hardest-working, kindest and smartest manager, Lilly!” Unkefer posted to Instagram last week. “I am proud to announce that Lilly is not only the manager at Skip Stone; she now is my new business partner.” 

Skip Stone, at 10678 Bay Shore Dr. in Sister Bay, opened in 2018. The coffee shop with a small food menu is open daily, all year, 7:30 am – 12:30 pm.