MILWAUKEE — You won't find many people who are as proud of their neighborhood as Sandra Lamers Hernandez. What makes that neighborhood pride more interesting, she has only lived in Milwaukee for five years.
"There's so much here. There's so much richness of culture and people," she said.
What she loves about her Layton Park neighborhood is its strong sense of community, its walkability, and the feeling of growth as new businesses open.
"Being able to like walk around in your neighborhood is very important to us. So we were really excited when theres been a lot of economic development that’s been happening on Lincoln," she said.
She isn't from Milwaukee, but this is where she has made home. Five years ago, she moved from New York City with her family. She could have moved anywhere, but she chose Layton Park, and she's not looking back.
"I absolutely love Milwaukee, especially the south side of Milwaukee," she said.
I met with Sandra, so she could show me her neighborhood through her eyes and experiences. Where we went and who we talked to was all up to her. There was no script to follow. Welcome to Layton Park.
A Beautiful Neighborhood
Sandra has called many places homes. She grew up in Southern California, lived in Mexico, and lived in New York City. Now she is calling the Cream City her home city.
“We were looking to settle down with our family. My husband is from Wisconsin. He attended UWM here. He loved Milwaukee, so we just decided to give it a try, and we have been here for almost five years.”
She was attracted to the culture and history of the neighborhood.
“When I became familiar with Layton Park, I realized this strong Hispanic Latino presence here, and that is one of the things that drew me to this neighborhood," she said.
For Sandra, it has all the necessary qualities of a place where you want to raise your family. The family dentist is within walking distance. During hot summer days, she can walk to get ice cream with her two children. There is a strong neighborhood association too. People are invested in making the community as strong, safe, and inviting as possible. Plus, there are many other young families.
“Our kids are always outside playing. There's parties happening all the time," she said. "Also what I really love is my block here. Our neighbors are awesome."
Neighborhood Unity
Embodying that spirit of investing in the neighborhood is Nelson Rea. He lives just a few blocks away from Sandra. He was one of the first people to reach out to her.
Nelson and his wife always make sure that the front of their house looks nice. They enjoy gardening and beautifying their side of the street.
"Milwaukee is a city that's very beautiful, very cozy, and there's all types of people here. They're very friendly," he said.
Nelson moved to the United States 18 years ago from Bolivia. He came to raise a family and to work.
Nelson is happy that he settled in Milwaukee. Just like Sandra, he feels like Layton Park offers everything you need to raise a family.
"I've known a good half of this block, and it's been nice," Nelson's son, Pedro, said.
Tu Casa
After visiting Nelson, we went to one of Sandra's favorite restaurants, Tu Casa. It's owned by Marcos Isidoro and his wife. They opened in 2018 after being servers for more than a decade.
“I think you have to try, you know. If some people want to do something on their own, they got to take a risk. You don’t take a risk. It’s not going to work, so you always have to take a risk," Isidoro said.
Taking a risk is exactly what the couple did. They had a successful first two years. Then the pandemic hit. Times were tough, and there were fears that they might have to close Tu Casa permanently. However, the community rallied around the business and began ordering take-out. That allowed Tu Casa to stay open and is a thriving restaurant today.
"I still can’t believe it. I still can’t believe (it), but we’ve been here for four years already, you know, and I'm happy. I'm happy I'm here," he said.
On any given night, Tu Casa is filled with people. They offer karaoke multiple times a week and have Latin dance nights on the weekends.
“It’s always like super lively in here. So it’s always good to like have somewhere accessible in your neighborhood where you can get good food, good drinks, good people, good environment," Sandra said.
It's the local watering hole. Friends come here to celebrate, families come for dinner, and memories are made. It's local gathering spots like this that create the building blocks of neighborhoods.
“(It's a) nice neighborhood. We love our neighbors. They love us. They love the food. They’re always here 2-3 times a week, you know," Isidoro said.
Neveria las Maravillas
Just having dinner isn't good enough. Sandra also wanted to have a sweet treat, so she met with her family at the new ice cream shop Neveria Las Maravillas.
It's not your typical ice cream shop. It serves traditional Mexican-style ice cream. Fany Gerson, who wrote the book Mexican Ice Cream, said that Mexican-style ice cream has a bolder taste than most American ice creams. There is a large emphasis on offering a variety of fruit flavors too.
"The difference with our ice cream is that it's natural and artisanal," Salomon Maravilla said. His family owns Neveria las Maravillas.
They have been ice cream makers for a long time. They were doing something similar before they moved to the United States from Mexico.
"This was our job in Mexico, and we brought it here, and it works well," Maravilla said.
The Maravilla family went from a push cart to a storefront, and the community has been treating them well. They have become a common stop for families like Sandra's.
"Yea, this is what we do after dinner. In the summertime especially, is walk over here and get some ice cream," she said.
Her whole family joined in at the ice cream shop. No one wanted to pass up on the opportunity to get some of the sweet treats.
Conclusion
Layton Park is Sandra's new home. Despite moving all over the country, she has found a neighborhood she feels connected to in Milwaukee. She is surrounded by friends, businesses, and the feeling that the community is growing. For her, it's a wonderful place to raise her family.
"Well, I think for the most part we feel very good about raising our kids here on the south side of Milwaukee, especially just like being in a neighborhood where predominantly Hispanic and Latinx people live here and that's very important to us."
As is tradition, the last word is always given to the tour guide of the My Block story. Before that happens though, here is how you can be part of the series. Reach out to James Groh to nominate your neighborhood or a neighbor to be featured in the next story. You can fill out this submission form or contact him at james.groh@tmj4.com or call/text at (414) 254-8145.
Now to Sandra.
"Is there anything else you'd like to add about your neighborhood?" TMJ4 reporter James Groh asked.
"One of the things that stands out to me as being like a new resident in Layton park is that I - my family and myself have been welcomed into this neighborhood with open arms. Our neighbors really make up what’s the best part about Layton Park. (It's) that community and just like the businesses that we visited, they're like family-owned from the community, and a lot of people from the community visit (them). It's a place worth investing in, and we're really happy here."