After a two-year, pandemic-induced hiatus we are thrilled to bring Comet back to Milwaukee!  Comet is once again part of the PIE Inc gang – which includes Honeypie, Palomino, SmallPie and Honeypie Bakeshop Milwaukee and Chicago.   Comet is where our restaurant group started in 2005 being our first café that we operated before opening Honeypie (our second), in 2009.  It was also in 2009 that we landed ourselves on the Food Network show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” forever cementing Comet into national food history (at least in TV reruns).  In 2015 we sold Comet to our then partners and focused on growing Honeypie and Palomino, opening SmallPie, and expanding the Bakeshop to Chicago.  We are over the moon to have Comet back in our care. 

Opened in 1995, Comet started as a small coffee shop slinging amazing sandwiches and delicious, strong coffee that you could linger over with a cigarette (it was the 90’s) – Comet has from the start been a loved third space for many.  Comet operated as that tiny punk-rock café until 2005 when PIE Inc partnered and expanded Comet into the space it is now.  We introduced a full bar and scratch-made diner food that we sourced locally (rare to find at the time) in addition to the classic sandwiches and coffee menu Comet started with.  Comet has held a special place in so many lives in its 25+ year history – it has been a neighborhood hangout, a place for first dates and engagements, birthday celebrations, family meals, hangover cures, band meetings, business meetings, Beer School and book clubs.  It has been a place for every age and welcoming to everyone.

 You’ll notice a few things are different now than when you were likely last here.  Some of it is on purpose, some of it is a by-product of current industry issues.  We have done our best to preserve the favorite menu items from the history of Comet – while also updating a few things to match our current times.  The pandemic really rocked the restaurant industry, and we still have not fully recovered.  Restaurants are still struggling with supply chain issues, rising costs, and extreme staffing shortages.  All of us are doing the best with what we’ve got – we are an endlessly creative industry after all – but it does mean that most restaurants are still not open 7 days a week, have eliminated services, have smaller menus, etc, etc.  Our priority at PIE Inc. is to keep the integrity of our restaurants in place – from-scratch, responsibly sourced food, great service for our community, support, kindness and a good living for our talented teams.  The choices we make for our operations put those values first and sometimes that means we have to take something else away to stay true to them (R.I.P cupcakes).  We hope you understand!  It is a privilege to operate Comet and be here to feed and care for you all once again.  We promise to do our best to keep Comet a special place for another 25 years.

We can’t wait to see you! – Valeri Lucks, Founder, CEO and Managing Partner & Derek Petersen, Executive Chef and Managing Partner, PIE Inc.

Interested in joining our team?

We strive to be a great employer, a valuable part of our community and a fun place to work!

Comet is once again part of PIE INC.  We are a small but growing company that includes Palomino, Honeypie Cafe, Honeypie Bakeshop-Milwaukee, SmallPie, and Honeypie Bakeshop-Chicago. (We originally operated Comet from 2005-2015 and we are thrilled to operate Comet once again!)

We are always looking for people who have a passion for our communities, hospitality, food and of course, pie. 

We seek individuals who are professional and serious about working in hospitality. We love what we do and we want you to love it too. Just as we believe in taking care of our guests, we believe in taking care of our team and providing a great place to work. We follow One Fair Wage practices with an evenly shared tip pool for both FOH and BOH.  We offer full-time team members (30+ hrs per week) health insurance, free membership to Healium Hot Yoga, a company discount, and after one year of employment a 401(k) retirement plan with company match. There are opportunities to grow in your job and train for more senior positions - we offer a Leadership Development program for those wanting to grow professionally.  We prefer to promote from within. We offer set weekly schedules, a team-driven approach to our work, and a respectful, progressive, open environment to work in.