🛍️ Fresh Mart grocery store to close Sunday

🛍️ Fresh Mart on University Avenue To Close

• Fresh Mart, the locally-owned grocery store that moved into the former Whole Foods location on University Avenue in March 2024, announced on social media Wednesday that it would be closing Sunday.
• “Closing this location is not an easy decision—it saddens us deeply to say goodbye to a place that has been filled with so much warmth and support from all of you,” the store’s owners wrote in a Facebook post. No specific reason was given for the closure.
• The Fresh Mart location in Sun Prairie will remain open. [Facebook]

⚽ Oft-Flooded Soccer Fields May Be Turned Into Pond

• The soccer fields located off Mineral Point Road on the far west side may be turned into a $5.8 million floodwater prevention project.
• The city is seeking contractor bids for the project, which would combine two ponds on the site into one larger pond, whose levels would be lowered to make room for rainfall runoff. The fields surrounding the pond, which often get flooded during heavy rains, would be replaced with native vegetation. Soccer teams who use the field are already looking for different places to play. [Cap Times]

🗳️ Two New Candidates Announce Runs For Governor

• Ending months of speculation, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany threw his hat in the ring to seek the Republican nomination for governor in the 2026 open contest to succeed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Tiffany, who has represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District since 2020, is the third candidate to enter the Republican primary. A staunch Trump supporter, he said his top priority would be to improve Wisconsin’s business climate by splitting the Department of Natural Resources into two separate entities.
• Meanwhile, former Democratic state lawmaker from Madison Brett Hulsey has also joined the race. Hulsey served in the state Assembly from 2011 through 2015 and spent years as a Dane County Supervisor. He’s known for his less-than-savory “antics” while in the statehouse and his campaign is considered a long shot. [WPR, 🔒 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

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!

On the City Cast Madison podcast today, Cap Times food and culture editor Lindsay Christians gives host Bianca Martin the scoop on some cool new restaurants that have opened recently and opening soon, and a few that are coming soon.

Check out these new restaurants and more on Overlook Maps!

Sern Sapp (Willy Street)

Laotian food is back on Willy Street in the former location of Lao Laan Xang (now on Atwood Avenue) The owner is part of the same family, and has the same commitment to Laotian comfort food, serving both familiar dishes like pho and others that might be new to Madison diners.

Jinx Coffee (Sun Prairie)

The coffee truck that’s a favorite with University Avenue commuters is in the middle of constructing their first brick-and-mortar location in Sun Prairie, to open this fall.

Stella’s Bakery & Cafe (Regent Street)

The bakery that draws the long lines at the Dane County Farmers’ Market for its spicy cheese bread will open a cafe on Regent Street next to Indie Coffee. In addition to baked goods, they’ll sell beer and wine and have a small outdoor beer garden.

One Social Food Hall (Downtown)

The ground floor of the new One09 luxury apartment building at 109 E. Wilson St. will feature a steakhouse, a cocktail lounge, and this food hall with at least seven tenants. Two have been announced – an offshoot of Senor Machetes (called Senora Machetes) and a Vietnamese food stall from the owners of Ha Long Bay and Little Palace.