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The future site of The Mirage, 10950 W. Good Hope Road. Photo taken in January 2023 by Sophie Borich.
The owner of Indian Village Restaurant plans to use nearly 30 years of industry experience to launch an ambitious new project on Milwaukee’s northwest side.
Apeksa Patel and her husband, Vijay, are preparing to open IVR Bar, a fusion-focused restaurant, at 10950 W. Good Hope Rd. With 7,730 square feet of space and a large outdoor patio, the location formerly housed Point Burger Bar.
Apexa said its IVR (International Variety Restaurant) is choice-focused and caters to diners looking for Mexican, Indian, Italian, Chinese cuisine or a combination of two or more.
“We’re going to give people a lot of options,” she said. “We have a really good cauliflower gobi manchurian, we have a really good butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, we’re going to do some really good enchiladas.”
The Patels, who have roots in India, expressed particular excitement about offering butter chicken pizza, a unique fusion rarely seen in Milwaukee locations.
The restaurant also plans to offer a variety of proteins and alternatives, including goat, lamb and plenty of vegetarian options. The restaurant’s tentative menu includes tacos, paneer quesadillas, curries and naan-filled burritos.
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Beer, including imported beers, wine and cocktails are also available.
The couple’s nephew, Gary Singh, will take on a senior management role at IVR.
“We’ve been in the industry for almost 30 years, so we know what we’re doing,” Apexa said, “and we decided that opening a big restaurant was a dream for me and my husband.”
This new venue certainly fulfills that wish, with seating for 300 in the dining room alone, plus space on the spacious patio, and the venue also features parking for 111 cars.
At a licensing committee hearing on July 9, the area’s city council member, LaResa Taylor, spoke in support of the Patels’ proposal.
“I think they’ll be great for the 9th District,” she said, recommending approval of the couple’s food and liquor licenses.
The Patels also plan to invite entertainers, such as instrumentalists and bands, to perform. If there’s no live music, a jukebox will be available. Original proposals included karaoke, comedy shows, magic shows and a pool table, but the committee asked that these be dropped, at least for the time being.
The Patels purchased the building for $810,000, according to the IVR Bar license application. Brian Ward, an agent with Shongololo LLC, previously owned the building, which was built in 2001 and renovated in 2016.
Another company, The Mirage, had planned to open at the site in 2023, but that proposal never came to fruition.
The Patels operate Indian Village restaurants in Greenfield and Waukesha, as well as Honey-Dipped Donuts at 805 S. Layton Blvd.
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