Waukesha committee approves Joey's Diner sidewalk cafe, renews licenses and special-event extensions

The Waukesha City Ordinance and Licensing Committee on Monday, March 10, 2025, approved a sidewalk cafe permit for Joey's Diner, granted a secondhand-dealer license for One Stop Wonders, and approved an extension of premises for Fox View Lanes for scheduled Saturday events with rain dates. The committee also renewed a package of existing beer, liquor and sidewalk-cafe permits; all actions were approved unanimously and will go to the full City Council for final action.

The sidewalk cafe permit for Joey's Diner drew the most discussion. Committee members said engineering concerns flagged during the application review have been addressed; the applicant confirmed she would remove portable items from the sidewalk at night and had revised the plan to meet staff requirements. The applicant said she plans to place six tables, each with four chairs, on the sidewalk and install a freestanding, nonfixed guardrail on legs to protect the seating area. She said some decorative items — including a painted Sinclair dinosaur and a pink statue for photographs — would remain part of the cafe’s customer experience.

"I want to be a better person," the applicant said, describing the cafe as part of a plan to operate a community-oriented business. She told the committee she would bring movable items inside at night and would remove or alter any fixtures staff flagged. The committee chair confirmed the outstanding engineering flags had been resolved before the vote.

A motion to approve the sidewalk cafe permit for Joey's Diner was made by Alderperson Helvensleben and seconded by Alderperson Wigderson; the motion passed unanimously and was recorded to move forward to the City Council. Committee members told the applicant the permit will be before the full council next week and indicated it is expected to be approved there; staff noted that deployment of tables and fixtures should wait until the council action is complete and any remaining staff conditions are met.

The committee approved, by unanimous consent, a secondhand-article dealer application for One Stop Wonders. No representative appeared for that item; the committee proceeded with the standard motion and voted to renew or approve the application as listed on the agenda.

The committee also approved an extension of premises request for Fox View Lanes to allow sales of beer and liquor during several Saturday car-show events. Committee discussion clarified this extension covers scheduled Saturday events and includes rain dates to shift activities to the following Sunday when needed. A committee member explained the events are recurring charity car shows and the extension contains specific alternate dates for rainy Saturdays.

Finally, the committee approved a package of routine renewals for on- and off-premises licenses and several sidewalk-cafe permits. The list read into the record included Taco Jalisco (Class B beer license), The Tap Yard (Waukesha Class B beer license), Tofty's Table (Class B beer and Class B liquor, and its sidewalk-cafe permit), Dave's Restaurant (Class B beer and Class B liquor, and its sidewalk-cafe permit), Rochester Deli (sidewalk-cafe permit), and The Steaming Cup (sidewalk-cafe permit). Committee members said these were standard renewals with no changes to operations noted on the agenda.

All committee votes on the items above were unanimous; the chair closed the meeting at 6:11 p.m. and confirmed the items will be placed on the full City Council agenda the following week for final approvals.