Madison Originals Magazine Madison Originals Magazine May 2014

Harvest Salad and they’ll tell you the only option is to return repeatedly and work your way through the menu, one order at a time. Banzo, the little-Mediterraneanrestaurant-that-could on the city’s north side, opened in 2012 inside a former two-story house on Sherman Avenue. The site had previously all food cooked for the food carts, as well as their extensive catering, takeout, and delivery business. Netalee is originally from Israel, and Aaron is from Wisconsin. The two met while studying in Australia. Four years ago, when the couple lived in New York, the mainstays of their current restaurant—falafel and hummus— EVERYTHING ON THE MENU IS MADE FROM SCRATCH been home to a couple of short-lived restaurants, and locals feared Banzo might not be the right fit. But two years later, owners Netalee Sheinman and Aaron Collins, with chef Dan Schmitz, have renovated the space into a neighborhood hot spot, with locals and visitors alike seeking out Banzo as a destination for authentic Middle Eastern food. The trio leapt onto the Madison food scene in September 2011 with their Banzo food cart, which now sits at the corner of State and Lake Streets. They’ve since added a second cart on the Capital Square at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The restaurant, which seats 60, including the popular outdoor patio, is technically their third location, and serves as home base for were being served on every corner of the city. “Mediterranean food has taken over New York,” Netalee says. “Every time we came back to Madison, we wanted to eat Mediterranean, and there weren’t a lot of options, especially late at night. So we thought, why not, let’s open a little hole in the wall here.” would like to incorporate a farmer of the month program. But, for the most part, their casual eatery with straightforward menu, inside dining, and outdoor patio with live music on the weekends is wildly successful. “Everything on the menu is made from scratch and prepared in small The couple married in 2012 and saw so much immediate success with their Banzo food cart, that a brick-andmortar restaurant seemed like the next logical step. Since then, the owners and their group of dedicated workers have applied many a gallon of paint to the building and renovated it inside and out. The pair say they still have more work to do—Netalee has decorating plans for the main downstairs dining space and Chef Dan MadisonOriginalsMagazine.com | 7

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