Umami Moto Milwaukee opens at 718 N. Milwaukee St. on Thursday with a VIP bash and Friday for the general public.

The restaurant and lounge, in the former Eve space (OnMilwaukee.com first reported that Eve would begin serving food again in 2007) is the work of club owners and restaurateurs Tom Wackman and Omar Shaikh.

Umami Moto Milwaukee was developed in partnership with Michael Polaski, the Umami "main-man" (he owns the Brookfield location) and Mi-key's owner.

The group, according to an e-mail from its marketing firm, "is aiming for a casually elegant, deviously fashionable dining and lounge experience."

The funky black and white space will be home to similar Asian fusion cooking, similar to the original Umami Moto location in Brookfield.

The group also will open Charro, later this year in the lounge space that was home to Tangerine, 729 N. Milwaukee St. Charro will be a Latin-themed restaurant."Charro will be to Latin cuisine what Umami Moto is to Asian, using a fusion approach to create a tastefully striking menu with influences ranging from Mexican, central American and Cuban," said Dave Racine, a marketing agent for the restaurant group.