The Buzz: Sap opens Tuesday in Grand Chute

May 26--The first thing to know about Carmella's Italian Bistro's new sister restaurant is that it is not Carmella's.

The new restaurant called Sap, opening Tuesday, has its own personality and flavor that can be summed up with the phrase "all-day brunch."

"Breakfast was the focus, but the idea developed. We thought, 'Why should we closed after breakfast?'" said Nicole DeFranza, co-owner of both Carmella's and Sap with her sister Kristen. "We'll serve breakfast all day. We love the term brunch."

"Sometimes a kid's favorite dinner is pancakes," said Kristen.

Sap will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, and an hour earlier for bakery pickup and espresso.

Its interior is a mix of modern, urban, casual and retro design elements -- 1950s-style diner chairs, tongue-and-groove espresso-stained birch walls, a retro turquoise ceiling and vintage Wisconsin travel posters. Servers wear baseball-style shirts and jeans. A year-round patio has two garage doors that roll up if temperatures are mild.

There isn't one bite of pasta on the menu. This isn't intended to be competition for Carmella's. Sap's tagline is "brunch, brown bag and bakery."

Sap is at 708 N. Casaloma Drive, between Fava Tea Co. and Penzeys Spices. It's just three doors down from Carmella's, allowing the sisters an easy jump back and forth.

"Our philosophy is the same at both places," said Nicole. "We're inviting guests into our home. The level of service is the same. Everything is made from scratch and made to order."

The restaurant's name came from Kristen's son, Owen, who at age 5 drew a picture of a breakfast restaurant he called Sap, an ode to maple syrup. The family loved the idea and tucked it away. Four years later, they're making it a reality.

Lunch/dinner menus feature sandwiches, salads and burgers. The to-go bakery counter has cupcakes, cheesecakes, fruit tarts and bomboloni (Italian doughnuts) made by Carmella's pastry chef Kari Mueller. A deli counter offers meats, cheeses and rotisserie chicken.

The kitchen, headed up by Matias Whittingslow, uses a lot of local, organic and artisan ingredients, so prices are higher than those at a traditional diner. An omelet made with local eggs from organic-fed chickens is $10 and includes salad and potatoes. Organic, grass-fed beef burgers are $11 and include skinny fries, onion rings and coleslaw.

The family invested $500,000 to create the new restaurant in the vacant storefront. It promoted four of Carmella's servers to management positions at Sap. "It's an opportunity for them to grow with us rather than going someplace else," said father Larry DeFranza.

"We value our staff," said Nicole. "Our staff is the reason we were able to do this."

The restaurant pays a $10 hourly basic rate and offers health insurance before government mandates kick in. Including Sap's 45 to 50 employees, the family now has more than 125 employees.

See more on Sap's Facebook page. The future website will be sapbrunch.com.

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