🐼 Alder attempts to ‘panda’ to voters

🚶Downtown Pedestrian Mall May Return in Limited Form

• A section of State Street won’t be turned into a pedestrian mall in the same way this summer, but city officials say the 2024 experiment was enough of a success to consider a scaled-back version in 2025.
• From May through October 2024, the city turned the 400-600 blocks of the downtown street into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare, and saw more people there compared to previous years. Visitors overwhelmingly said they loved the mall, but the reaction from business was more mixed, officials said.
• On Tuesday, the City Council directed the Planning Department to run a very limited iteration this summer, and consider longer-term improvements for State Street. You can check out the city’s full report on the experiment and its findings here. [City of Madison]

🐮 Pink Heifer Saloon Stampeding onto State Street

• Pink Heifer BBQ Saloon will bring brisket, chicken, and other barbecue fare to State Street starting in June. The restaurant will be a fast-casual offshoot of Pink Heifer Saloon & Smokehouse in Monticello.
• Owner Joe Fox said he plans to have 25 Pink Heifer restaurants open in the next five years, including two more Madison spots by the end of 2025.
• 🎧 Dig deeper: State Street was one a haven for late-night fare, but these days, late night eats can be hard to find in Madison. Get some recs on the City Cast Madison podcast today from host Bianca Martin, executive producer Hayley Sperling, and Madison Magazine’s Emma Waldinger. [ 🔒 WSJ, 🎧City Cast Madison]

🏫 Political Climate Worries Potential International Students

• The international student population at UW-Madison could shrink because of concerns over travel bans, visa applications, and federal research funding cuts by the Trump administration.
• Samantha McCabe director of the university’s International Student Services said long delays over securing visas, and reports of students being deported because of political activism, may have students thinking twice about applying to an American school.
• Last fall, nearly 8,000 international students were enrolled at UW, and international students pay on average $15,000 more in tuition per semester than Wisconsin residents. [WPR]

Welcome to our list of the best new restaurants and bars opening in and around Madison! We’ll update this list each month. If we’ve missed a new spot you think we should feature, let us know!

Cafe Domestique (Near West Side)

The Madison coffee shop will open a third location in April on Allen Street just off Regent Street in the space formerly occupied by The Heights. The shop will partner with Glou Glou pop-up wine store next door and become a wine bar in the evening.

Cafe Zaragoza (South Madison)

The new Mexican restaurant on South Park Street from the owners of the former Cuco’s on the east side is as expansive as its menu, including a vegan menu and a large event space.

El Gran Taco Gato (Southwest Madison)

The new Latina-owned restaurant on Williamsburg Way combines the owners’ two favorite things – tacos and ice cream. The tacos, quesadillas, and burritos are made in a food truck outside while the interior is an ice cream parlor offering up to 16 varieties of handmade ice cream.

Cordial (Park Street)

The friendly cocktail bar (which, coincidentally, hosted City Cast Madison’s launch party back in the day) is now adding a food menu Wednesdays through Fridays, including Wisconsin cheese plates, shareables and sandwiches.

Fya Syde Kitchen (Monroe Street)

A new Jamaican-style restaurant will open in April on Monroe Street, in the space where Taberna Tacos & Tequila was for less than a year. The menu mixes traditional entree items like burgers and sandwiches with a Caribbean twist.

Rasta Barista (Black Business Hub)

True to the Rasta name, the new coffee shop set to open in April will specialize in Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee roasted on-site. Coffee from Madison’s Rusty Dog will also be served.