If you think the elves in the North Pole have been busy, wait until you see what the workers at Splash Studio have been working on: a pop-up winter wonderland worthy of a Rankin/Bass stop-motion Christmas TV special called Elves Studio, opening at the art bar's East Side HQ on Saturday, Nov. 23 and running through the rest of the holiday season.

The fate of many restaurants ends after the first year – in fact, 60 percent of all restaurants close before their anniversary date. Crossroads Collective, Milwaukee's only food hall on the East Side, beat the odds and now looks forward to its second year with original vendors, new vendors and a fresh approach to crushing customer cravings.

A defining moment in Hacienda Beer Co. owner John McMahon’s business venture was at the Far and Away beer festival in Chicago in 2018. The day after the festival was over, a famous beer podcast reported that its favorite beer at the festival was a new brewery from southern California named Hacienda.

The 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival drew a record 87,618 attendees over the 15-day event. Attendance at this year’s festival, which ran from Oct. 17-31, was up 12% over 2018.

An Elf-themed pop-up bar will be open in Milwaukee during the 2019 holiday season. Buddy the elf is taking over Splash Studio near Oakland Avenue and North Avenue Nov. 29 through Dec. 29, when Splash Studio will become Elf Studio.

Since opening in the former site of G-Daddy’s BBC in June, Hacienda Beer Co. has been a crucial part of North Avenue’s ongoing resurgence. The young taproom and restaurant has quickly made a name for itself in Milwaukee with consistently good small batch beers, a steady stream of live music, and food offerings that are as tasty as they are eclectic.

Don’t be a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins, check out this new elf-themed pop-up bar coming to Milwaukee! Elf Studio is taking over Milwaukee's Splash Studio on the east side starting Friday, Nov. 29.

Mad Chicken, a locally owned concept specializing in chicken tenders, wings and sandwiches, is slated to open in the former Burger King restaurant at 2045 E. North Ave., potentially as soon as Nov. 15.