Wisconsin Haven In the City that Never Sleeps
If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere. Apparently, Wisconsin has made its mark on New York City with a string of six Wisconsin-based restaurants near the West Village together known as “Little Wisco.” Wisconsin Public Radio’s Wisconsin Life recently ran a segment featuring Wisconsin natives Adam Benedetto and Brian Bartels, employees at the Wisconsin-bred restaurant Joseph Leonard, the original business that started the Sconnie phenomenon.
Creator Gabriel Stulman, a University of Wisconsin graduate, has built the eatery on his Midwestern attitude (aka niceness). Employees in Little Wisco-based establishments are Wisconsinites through and through – Benedetto said that customers often compliment the staff on their friendliness, to which he responds, “Well, we’re from Wisconsin. It’s what we do.”
Little Wisco brings a sense of closeness and normalcy to a city sometimes known for its chilly anonymity. Benedetto said, “New York City thrives on other people bringing culture to the city.” Bartles mentioned that it’s difficult to feel homesick in Little Wisco since he lives above the biggest Packer bar in the city. The community aspect Little Wisco offers can’t be replicated, and Bartles claims it could only have been learned at home in Wisconsin.
