Spring brings the return of the outdoor Dane County Farmers’ Market every Saturday on the Capitol Square, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on Wednesdays.
Outdoor patios are opening with diners eager to eat al fresco after a long winter.
At the same time, the Madison area restaurant scene continues to evolve.
New openings & food delivery
Poke Bay, a build-your-own bowl food spot, opened a third location in Monona at 6518 Monona Drive. Poke Bay serves bowls and salads alongside seafood offerings like salmon and tuna.
Its other locations are at 2831 Parmenter St. in Middleton and at 6611 McKee Road in Madison.
And Friends Applaud, in the former Funk Factory and Black Rose Blending at 1602 Gilson St., is open as of April 8.
Friends Applaud is a 28-seat cafe run by owner Adam Benedetto, who renovated the space himself. Benedetto is an alumnus of Madison’s now-closed Restaurant Magnus and New York City’s Joseph Leonard and Jeffrey’s Grocery.
The kitchen serves sardines from Portugal, pizza, sandwiches, soups, salads and more.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin dairy will find its way into some new sweet treats in downtown Sun Prairie this month.
Asteria Ice Cream & Soda is set to open at 111 W Main St., and will serve housemade ice cream, desserts and craft sodas.
“By partnering with our local farming families and artisan producers, we ensure every hand-crafted treat is rooted in the finest ingredients, celebrating the heart of our community in every scoop,” Asteria said on its website.
Some of the local spots it plans to use ingredients from include Heartland Craft Grains from Lodi, and Sassy Cow Creamery and Beans n Cream Coffee, both in Sun Prairie.
Hot ’n Spicy has existed mostly as a takeout restaurant in a part of the Viet Hoa Market on Monona Drive, but it now has its own space a few doors down from its former location.
The Southeast Asian restaurant moved into the former Mishqui Peruvian Bistro space at 4604 Monona Drive.
The new location will have enough room to seat 48 customers, compared to the previous location’s 10.
Local ice cream purveyor Chocolate Shoppe opened its Hilldale Shopping Center location.
The ice cream scooper previously had a location in the shopping mall but left in 2005.
The family-owned business, which opened in 1962, has multiple locations across Madison. It is also opening a location in the forthcoming Madison Public Market.
Marigold Kitchen’s catering kitchen is now open at 1511 Williamson St.
Marigold has been in business for over 20 years, and its catering program focuses mostly on breakfast and lunch.
“We have a longstanding relationship with many businesses and wonderful people within our community, and we’re very excited to be able to broaden our capacity to bring on more,” Marigold said in a statement.
Marigold serves sandwiches, salads, breakfast platters and box lunches.
A new bakery, Bri’s Fresh Bakes, opened its storefront in Sun Prairie.
The business, which got its start five years ago at the Sun Prairie Farmers’ Market, will have a permanent location at 1225 W. Main St.
Bri’s sells pastries, breads and cookies out of an open-concept kitchen visible to customers. There will also be a rotating menu of seasonal items.
Night Market returns
The Madison Night Market returns May 14 at N. Carroll and W. Mifflin streets on the Capitol Square, State and Gilman streets.
Over 129,000 visitors attended the Madison Night Market in 2025, according to Placer.ai — a 10% increase over 2024.
For a full schedule, go to visitdowntownmadison.com.
