Lowcountry, a seafood restaurant on Milwaukee’s Water Street, has closed permanently, adding to a series of recent business closures in the city’s downtown entertainment district.
The restaurant announced on Sunday, August 30, that it was shutting its doors, but gave no reason for the decision. A notice posted at the premises read: “Thank you. Closed for good.” ([fox6now.com](https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-lowcountry-water-street-closes))
The closure came as a surprise to some customers. Milwaukee resident Robin Lamonte told FOX6 she had been heading to Lowcountry with friends for dinner when they discovered it was no longer operating.
“We were happy, we were ready to get a boil in or something,” she said.
Lamonte said the restaurant had appeared to receive positive online reviews, while a window at the premises displayed an “A” health rating. Lowcountry’s general manager told FOX6 that “Business is not what it used to be.” ([fox6now.com](https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-lowcountry-water-street-closes))
The restaurant’s closure follows the temporary shutdown of Silk on Water, a gentlemen’s club nearby, which announced on August 28 that it was closing immediately because of shootings, gun violence and other public safety concerns in the Water Street and Juneau Avenue entertainment district.
Silk said it would review the position in early November, including measures taken by Milwaukee officials and law enforcement. The company said the decision was intended to protect staff and customers, rather than represent an abandonment of downtown Milwaukee. ([aol.com](https://www.aol.com/articles/silk-water-temporarily-closes-citing-013927000.html?utm_source=openai))
Duke’s on Water, a long-standing bar at the corner of Water Street and East Juneau Avenue, also closed permanently in May. Its owners said the building had been sold and that they had decided not to sign a new lease, while management had separately raised concerns about violence in the area. ([fox6now.com](https://www.fox6now.com/news/downtown-milwaukee-bar-dukes-water-closes?utm_source=openai))
Milwaukee’s police department has since been in talks with the investors who acquired the building that formerly housed Duke’s about a possible public safety use for part of the site, according to FOX6. The proposal would create a more permanent police presence in the Water Street corridor. ([fox6now.com](https://www.fox6now.com/news/dukes-water-milwaukee-police-use.amp?utm_source=openai))
Neighbour Nehemiah Brown told FOX6 he believed a growing underage crowd contributed to disorder in the area, including fighting. His comments were not presented as an official finding.
Alderman Robert Bauman, whose district includes Water Street, said he did not know why Lowcountry had closed and had received no communication from the business.
Lamonte said she hoped the latest closure would not harm plans to develop the area, which remains home to restaurants and nightlife businesses. “A lot of people come here to have a good time, and a lot of people come here to eat,” she said. ([fox6now.com](https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-lowcountry-water-street-closes))
