Wisconsin Stories and Data

Saz’s has been a Milwaukee staple since owner Steve Sazama opened Saz’s State House in 1976. Since the restaurant’s inception, Saz’s has also grown into the state’s largest off-premise catering company via Saz’s Catering, Inc. In 2015, Saz’s had the opportunity to purchase and renovate a 28,000 sq.. building in Walker’s Point to house the operations of Saz’s Catering, Inc. and Saz’s Festivals, LLC. e new property has multiple functions, serving as a commercial kitchen and providing over 16,000 sq. of warehouse and storage space. e property was also renovated to include 7,000 sq.. of office space. MEDC and Bank Mutual financed the property purchase and renovations. Globally, Saz’s employs 215 people with plans to hire 35 moreemployees in the coming years.

Hilmot was founded in 2005 by Tony Hill and Mark King aer they purchased the assets of Midwest Conveyor Systems. The company designs and builds Motorized Drive Roller (MDR) conveyor systems, primarily for the manufacturing and distributing industries. The company moved its headquarters and operations from multiple Waukesha facilities to a single Milwaukee location because the new building provided a more efficient space for the company to grow. MEDC, along with BMO Harris Bank, assisted in financing the purchase and renovations of Hilmot’s new location. The company currently employs 113 full- and 15 part-time employees, and has plans to hire 30 more full-time employees in the next two years.

JCP Construction LLC, was founded in January 2008by the Phelps brothers, James, Clion, and Jalin. the company’s initial focus was multi-family home renovations. In 2009, the company matured into a commercial construction company with a focus on self-performing, selective demolition, cast-in-place concrete, and carpentry projects. MEDC, along with Pyramax Bank, financed the purchase and renovationsof the company’s new building on MLK Drive for its day-to-day operations, as well as to provide tenant space for a long-established Milwaukee nonprofit entity. JCP currently employs 16 people, and plans to hire two more full-time and one part-time position over the next two years.