Perry Stuckey moved to Milwaukee after a job transfer and has called it home ever since. (Photo by Brett Kramer)

Accented by theaters, museums, and high-demand eateries including five-star restaurants and traditional family dining, Milwaukee mixes cosmopolitan flair with small-town hospitality. Formerly known as a brewing and manufacturing capital, Milwaukee today is driven by service industries like precision manufacturing and printing; professional and managerial positions are among the city’s fastest growing occupations.

Despite fiscal belt-tightening over the last year, Milwaukee’s diverse range of industries enabled the city to avoid the financial shockwaves that devastated other metropolises across the country. Major companies headquartered here include Johnson Controls, a producer of automotive interiors; motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson; and producer of technology solutions Rockwell Automation, where Perry Stuckey serves as vice president of human resources. A job transfer brought Stuckey and his family to Milwaukee from Cleveland five years ago. “I remember thinking Chicago is the city in the Midwest,” he says, recalling his trepidation about relocating. The warm reception from the business community and the highly ranked Wisconsin public school system helped change his mind.

Choose Milwaukee (www.choosemilwaukee.com) is working on converting skeptics like Stuckey into new residents. To attract new business and talent to the seven counties of southeastern Wisconsin, this initiative provides corporations and entrepreneurs with a variety of incentives, financial assistance, and loan programs (listed on the site). The city also seeks a more diverse community, and through its minority business services, including The Business Council, is working to attract minority business owners and facilitate growth.

Stuckey is also encouraged by the quality of life Milwaukee offers. “Where else in America can I get lakes, parks, music, great museums, and great schools?” he says. “There’re not many places like that. It’s been great for me.”

Accommodations
[1] The Intercontinental (139 East Kilbourn Ave, 414-276-8686; www.intercontinentalmilwaukee.com) is a four-star hotel at the heart of the downtown business and theater district. Located along the Milwaukee Riverwalk, the hotel is within walking distance of many parks, restaurants, and bars.

[2] The Iron Horse Hotel (500 West Florida Street, 888-543-4766, www.theironhorsehotel.com) is a luxury boutique hotel transformed from a historic building in the city’s warehouse district. Hardwood floors and dark furnishings make it an attractive stay for business professionals—and bikers. The hotel offers special parking bins for bikers and Biker’s Night on Thursdays, when enthusiasts get to show off their rides. With art by local artists displayed throughout, the hotel ambiance is great for mingling and dining at the bar, Branded, and The Yard, an outdoor restaurant.

Dining
[3] Bacchus (925 East Wells, 414-756-1166, www.bacchusmke.com) part of the renowned Bartolotta family of restaurants, offers several rooms for public dining and private functions. The eatery is known for fresh seafood, like Scottish salmon, and handmade desserts, like Bacchus “Banana Split.” Head Chef Adam Siegel won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest 2008.

[4] Dream Dance Steak (1721 West Canal Street, 414-847-7883, www.paysbig.com) at the Potawatomi Casino resort, offers signature fine dining specials including root beer-cured venison and lobsterwurst—with five sauces to choose from. Chef Jason Gorman also offers a delectable cheese menu of up to 15 Wisconsin cheeses. For special business meetings the restaurant provides private dining with audio/visual capabilities for up to 50 guests or in-kitchen dining with the chef and a choice of five, seven, or 10 courses.

Check out:
[5] Harley-Davidson Museum (400 Canal Street, 877-436-8738, www.harley-davidson.com). A tribute to the iconic bikes and the culture that developed around them, this 130,000- square-foot museum campus displays artifacts from the company archives that have never before been shown to the public.

This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.

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