Migration Archives

12 Dec

Brain drain basics: Wisconsin’s problem with the emigration of highly educated people

Photo by Caroline Crowley.

By Caroline Crowley

Savannah Kind graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science in May 2021. In August, she packed a suitcase and moved to Seattle to join AmeriCorps and teach a classroom of elementary students.

When Kind boarded a plane and flew away from her old life in Wisconsin, she said she wasn’t leaving to escape the state.

“It wasn’t that Wisconsin didn’t have career opportunities or didn’t have things I was looking for, it was more like I’ve been here my whole life and I’m looking for something new,” Kind said. “So it’s like, no matter how great Wisconsin is, it couldn’t offer me a new state.”

Savannah Kind. *Photo by Caroline Crowley.*

Kind is one of the thousands of highly-educated people who emigrate from Wisconsin every year. Though the state’s population continues to grow each year, its percentage of highly-educated people has been shrinking for decades.

This phenomenon is called brain drain. Many states struggle with the emigration of highly-educated professionals, but Wisconsin has been in the top 10 states struggling with brain drain since 1980, according to research from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

Communications director and policy researcher for the Forum, Mark Sommerhauser said Wisconsin sees a significant amount of brain drain from freshly-minted college graduates.

Sommerhauser said these trends in emigration are, in part, due to the proximity of the Chicago and Twin Cities metropolitan areas to Wisconsin’s state borders. The career opportunities in these larger cities attract college graduates, he said.

In Kind’s case, she said some of her friends left Wisconsin after their graduation for careers across the country because other states were more popular locations for their careers. But, Kind said many fresh college graduates just want a fresh start — they want to live somewhere new and leave the nest one last time before they settle down.

“A lot of times it wasn’t necessarily that they didn’t want to be in Wisconsin,” Kind said. “…It is kind of another chance to really figure out your priorities in life. And some people have that figured out and they have a lot of things that they want to stay in Wisconsin for and that’s a priority for them. Other people, it’s like, for me at least, my friends were ready to kind of do another reset, kind of figure out what different areas are like.”

There are still many graduates who remain in Wisconsin after their college careers. According to UW-Madison, over 40% of in-state students remain in Wisconsin after graduating college.

UW-Madison senior studying civil engineering, Ethan Wright said he’s always planned on staying in Wisconsin after graduation. He grew up in Stoughton, 20 minutes away from the UW-Madison campus, and stayed in Wisconsin to live close to family.

Aside from wanting to stay close to his loved ones, Wright said he is staying in Wisconsin after graduation because he’s still figuring out his future career.

“It’s probably because I don’t really know what I want to do for a job,” Wright said. “And so that might be why a job isn’t the biggest priority for me right now.”

He also expressed concerns about leaving the state and starting over on his own — “that sounds really scary,” Wright said.

Though Wright could see himself leaving the state in the future to raise a family or follow a career, he said it is likely he would return to Wisconsin eventually.

Many people return to Wisconsin after straying away directly after graduation — Kind said she believes she will return to her home state eventually, either for graduate school or to be closer to her family and friends.

Wisconsin has a draw for people of family-rearing age — the state has a low cost of living, a good education system and is an attractive place to raise children, according to Sommerhauser. Madison and Milwaukee are also rich in job opportunities for people with college degrees.

Despite these benefits, Sommerhauser said the state government could be doing more to retain and attract highly educated populations. Though the Midwestern region as a whole is struggling to retain college graduates, states like Minnesota and Illinois have proved that some factors can attract people beyond the geographical features of a state.

Our development priorities have to be different if we want to keep more of our graduates here instead of seeing them head for Minneapolis or Chicago or places beyond.
Tim Smeeding

Professor of public affairs and economics at the UW-Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs, Tim Smeeding said one way to reduce brain drain is by improving immigration policies. According to Smeeding, many Wisconsin college graduates immigrate to the state from other countries but are forced to leave when the government doesn’t renew their visas.

“This is a brain drain of people who came to us from foreign countries, who we trained and invested in and who want to stay but have to leave because we won’t provide them an opportunity,” Smeeding said. “That’s ridiculous.”

Smeeding also said the state needs to think more broadly about development to attract more college graduates.

Despite Gov. Tony Evers’ helpful investments in small businesses, Smeeding said Wisconsin should offer more STEM opportunities to graduates as opposed to the state’s current priorities manufacturing and agriculture.

Madison offers these opportunities, Smeeding said, but opportunities must expand throughout the state. Microchip development is one way forward in this category — Smeeding said Wisconsin passed up an opportunity to work with Micron, a semiconductor manufacturer. This opportunity, and others like it, would have allowed the state to retain more college graduates in STEM fields.

“Our development priorities have to be different if we want to keep more of our graduates here instead of seeing them head for Minneapolis or Chicago or places beyond,” Smeeding said.

12 Dec

The Tibetan community of Madison, Wisconsin

Photo by Dani Csaszar.

By Dani Csaszar

The Tibetan Community of Madison may be a smaller one, but it thrives through its resources, allowing Tibetan families and individuals to practice their culture and educate themselves and one another.

Kalsang Dolma, a mother of two, has lived with her family in Madison for over seven years Having previously lived in Downtown Madison, the family now lives in Fitchburg, only about a ten-minute drive from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.“Me and my husband grew up in India, where it’s very clean, and there’s a lot of trees. That’s why we like to live in nature”, explained Kalsang.

Kalsang was born in Tibet, which went under Chinese repression in 1959. At the young age of six, Kalsang fled her country to India for her education. “I finished high school. Then I went to college, finished college, and then I was a teacher there for 11 years, in India. I taught math and science for Middle High School for nine years,” said Kalsang. She is now a nurse, and her daughter Phurbu is also studying to become a nurse. Kalsang’s parents still live in Tibet, under Chinese rule.

Madison may be considered a small-big city, but it does have a focal Tibetan community that consists of around 500-700 people. In cities likeNew York or Chicago, these Tibetan communities are much larger. “It’s to the point where in like those areas, you can just get away with not even learning like English,” explained Kalsang. Communities in larger cities can exceed thousands of individuals, such as New York City, which holds a Tibetan population of between five and six thousand individuals.

One main resource for the Tibetan community is the Buddhist Deer Park located in Oregon, Wisconsin. It resides just outside of Madison and is the homeplace of Tibetan celebrations and get-togethers. Kalsang emphasized that Deer Park is used for religious ceremonies, practices and teachings. The Deer Park is accessible all day and is welcome to any individual wanting to see it. You can pray, meditate, or talk to the monks.

Geshe Sopa is the founder and emeritus of Deer Park and was a huge inspiration for the Tibetan people in the Madison community. Kalsang talked of him highly. “He gained a lot of support. And he asked his students were a lot of the sponsors. So that’s why there’s especially like a huge community in Madison.” Geshe taught South Asian Studies at UW and was involved with the University for over thirty years.

In 1979, the Dalai Lama visited Madison at the request of Geshe Sopa. Here, the Dalai Lama instilled the first Kalachakra empowerment for world peace in the Western part of the world. This was the Dalai Lama’s first time performing this outside of Tibet or India. He has visited Deer Park an additional eight times since.

Madison also has a community center for children to learn about Tibetan culture and other social events. Kalsang emphasized that the community will celebrate Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, the same day in history thatthe Dalai Lama recieved the Nobel Peace Prize. “We have been celebrating since 1989– it’s a big occasion for us,” Kalsang said.

Kalsang’s husband Dhonpa currently teaches at the community center which is located on the east side. “On Sunday, for three hours, the little kids are taught our culture and the Tibetan language,” explained Kalsang.

Having never been to Tibet, Phurbu still feels a spark from her culture and wants to continue that throughout her life. “I think the biggest thing is me having the urge to learn more about my Buddhist heritage. Every few months I’ll go to the temple or just stuff like that to reignite it,” explained Phurbu.

“If you get involved in community activities or community programs, then you will be able to learn about your culture, and you will be able to retain the rich culture you have. And then, especially if you have kids, you know, the kids will learn from each other. And then you will be talking to the people about what resources there are. It can be really helpful when you have somebody coming from another country,” Phurbu said.

Sponsors or identified individuals of the Madison community helped Tibetan people adapt to Wisconsin. Kalsang emphasized that these first generations survived because of these sponsors, and that’s what truly makes Madison a community. Coming from a completely different part of the world, everything from language to societal norms is an element one must adapt to in order to succeed in their new environment.

Kalsang’s journey here is similar to many others in the Tibetan community: many Tibetan individuals and families were relocated to the United States. Starting as a settlement project for Tibetan refugees in the 1980s, Kalsang had two of her sisters move to Madison. “We have a family here. The eldest sister wanted us to move here in Madison so that we can stay close by and they can help us.”

Phurbu Bhuti, daughter of Kolsang, has utilized her own experience of her Tibetan background. Having moved to Madison at only 8 years old from New York City, this was a huge switch in terms of knowing her culture based on her surrounding environment. “When we first came to Madison, we lived at my aunt’s house, and we lived there. There were a lot of Tibetan kids in that community and we all played together. That was that that was a fun memory for me,” Phurbu said.

Utilizing Madison’s many educational resources allowed Kalsang, Phurbu, and their family to learn English and American customs as well as find jobs and opportunities. Kalsang emphasized that their time at public libraries helped immersive them into American culture. Phurbu and Kalsang highlighted how much they love the educational opportunities that Madison has to offer. This involved not only Deer Park, but of general public services that would provide jobs and opportunities for the family. Some of these involve the Goodman Community Center and Urban League, two public organizations that help with food for the holidays, job opportunities, and more.

Kalsang and her family have hopes of retaining their culture for the following generations. “My goal for the future is like, we always try to teach our children how rich our culture is, especially in terms of trust we have in terms of prayers we do in terms of, you know, how we live our life, living with kindness, helping others, whenever or wherever you can know,”Kalsang said..

The Tibetan Community of Madison may be small, but it is a strong one. The one factor that can be highlighted for the Tibetan community of Madison is the people that make up it up. Individuals have the opportunity to relearn and educate themselves on a beautiful culture. One thing Kalsang wants all readers to take away is that anyone can find trouble in holding their identity close to them. It can be easy to avoid the responsibilities of who an individual may be, but Kalsang emphasizes that we all have the potential to hold on to ourselves.

12 Dec

Mexican solace found in rural Wisconsin, Tortilleria Zepeda is a taste of home

By Ellie Nowakowski and Cate Schiller

When Julian Zepeda met his wife Heidi and moved from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to rural Wisconsin he found himself in food heaven. He could not get enough Culvers.

However, the charm soon wore off and homesickness set in. Julian began craving authentic Mexican food but was not finding it anywhere.

“He started really missing Mexican food and his home,” Heidi said.

He began calling his family seeking recipes that tasted like home. The one missing piece he kept returning to was an authentic, chemical-free tortilla.

Julian found it hard to believe he would be able to make a tortilla that compared to his abuela’s with Wisconsin corn, he explained, but he still thought he should give it a try. Before long, Julian was fielding requests from friends and neighbors to purchase his homemade, authentic corn tortillas.

“It’s great that I can show how a good tortilla is supposed to taste, people aren’t used to it,” Julian said.

It wasn’t until he boarded a plane to his hometown with an air-sealed package of his new product for his family to try that Julian felt ready to start his own business. His family told him that his tortillas, made with Wisconsin corn crops, tasted like authentic Mexican tortillas. Their approval gave Julian the green light he was looking for.

Tortilleria Zepeda opened in 2018 in Lone Rock, just outside of Spring Green, Wisconsin. For Julian, the small factory is more than just his place of work, it’s a place that feels like home.

“It’s like a little Mexico in this rural area of Wisconsin,” Heidi said.

This experience extends beyond just Julian. The couple saw a strong LatinX community emerge who concurred, the taste of their authentic tortilla feels like home.

“We’ve had this beautiful response from community members and Mexican immigrants in Wisconsin that are finding a little connection to home among all these farmlands,” Heidi said.

The former marine biologist is not entirely out of his element in his tortilleria. In fact, he views the process as somewhat of a science. The couple uses an ancient Mexican technique called nixtamalization. The process involves soaking the corn in an alkaline solution for 24 hours and grinding it using volcanic stone to create masa — the tortilla base. Tortelleria Zepeda’s tortillas have just three ingredients: corn, water and pickling lime (calcium hydroxide).

Nixtamalization is a process the couple is passionate about. Not only do bigger brands skip out on the process that releases important nutrients in corn, Heidi explained, but they often add chemicals and preservatives to their product. The couple sources several varieties of corn from farms as close as seven miles down the road.

“We want to support local organic corn farmers and not let these big farmers take over,” Heidi said. “These organic farms are what make Wisconsin, Wisconsin.”

Made from local Wisconsin corn crops and using an ancient Aztec technique, the resulting tortillas are a perfect mix of the two of them, Heidi said.

It’s like a little Mexico in this rural area of Wisconsin.
Heidi Zepeda

Heidi moved to Mexico in search of adventure, where she met Julian in 2014. The two wanted to relocate to the states, and Heidi suggested her home state, “exotic Wisconsin.” They landed in her hometown of Spring Green where she grew up on a beef farm.

“I’m the farm girl from Wisconsin and my husband brings the authentic Mexican piece,” Heidi said.

Together, along with one employee and the help of Heidi’s sister, the couple sources, produces, distributes and delivers their tortillas across the state. They have found receptive audiences in customers, restaurant owners and grocery store owners.

“We basically started from word of mouth. We know all of our clients personally, we have great relationships with them,” Julian said. “In Wisconsin, people help each other, it’s a great community”

Canteen Taco in Madison offers Tortilleria Zepeda tortilla’s on their menu for an additional dollar per order of tacos. Customers seem to like them more than the “regular” ones they offer, said Canteen manager Alison Martin.

“I think there’s a noticeable difference,” said Martin. “They taste a little more homemade.”

Going forward, the Zepedas are looking to expand tortilla distribution and explore some passion projects of theirs — including on-site Mezcal tastings.

“We had this space here where we could create this little oasis. Now we can share authentic Mexican food and beverages with the community.”

Tortilleria Zepeda will host its next mezcal tasting on Jan. 7 at 3:00 p.m. at their factory.

12 Dec

The Hmong community in Wisconsin: An analysis on the migration and student life of one of largest Asian ethnic group in Wisconsin

By William Fannon

A crucial element of Wisconsin’s identity is its Hmong residents. The Hmong ethnic group is the largest asian-ethnic group in Wisconsin, comprising 29% of the total Asian population in Wisconsin (PBS Wisconsin). The Hmong population is increasingly growing, with its estimate in 2019 being around 58,000 (PBS Wisconsin) showing around an 18% increase from the recorded population of 49,240 reported from the census in 2010. Wisconsin is also a very popular destination for Hmong immigrants as it holds around one-fifth of the country’s total Hmong population. (U.S Census).

It may seem kind of odd that a state like Wisconsin, the center of America has one of the largest portions of an immigrant population (Pew Research Center), however when learning about student experiences attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it could seem clear why many Hmong generations stay in the Midwest.

While Wisconsin is a popular destination for Hmong immigrants, they are still a large minority within the state. When attending white-dominated institutions like UW-Madison it could be hard as they are a severe minority. Asian Americans in general make up only 9% of the total population of the campus (collegefactual.com).

“Being in a place where you’re the only non-white person can be a bit intimidating,” said junior Brendan Chang, who is a part of the Hmong ethnicity. “I’m cool with it and everything, it just helps if there is at least one other Asian kid there.”

Chang is from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where he has lived for his entire life. There he hung out with mostly other Hmong students and cited that a big thing that he felt was different between him and his white classmates was that he didn’t go to church unlike a lot of his other classmates.

Once Chang had arrived in Madison for college and had to make new friends in a space dominated by white people, he had decided to join the Hmong American Student’s Association or “HASA” to help connect with people of similar backgrounds.

As a result of joining HASA, Chang said he has been able to,“connect with other Hmong students, around the state and around the country.”

Chang is also the fundraising chair for HASA, where his duties include helping find funding and plan events to generate revenue for the club. In this role, he hopes he is able to “encourage other students to put themselves out there and provide a safe space for Hmong students.”

Even though it has Hmong in the name, HASA is not exclusive to just Hmong students. Other Southeast Asian students, like Tyler Auth who is Cambodian, have joined the organization in order to meet other Asian students with different ethnicities.

The prospect of meeting and interacting however with other ethnicities is a big draw to many Hmong students even as well, like Chang’s roommate, Evan Yang. Like Chang, Yang is Hmong and has lived in Wisconsin before coming to college. He grew up in La Crosse, another predominately white city in Wisconsin, but lived in La Crosse, but he was friends with Hmong and white kids in High School.

“In La Crosse, I was really cool with white and Asian kids,” said Yang, “but since college is so much larger, it definitely was a priority to make sure that I joined some multicultural orgs so I knew people who had similar backgrounds as me.”

Like Chang, he felt intimidated by coming to a predominantly white university, so he looked for an organization consisting of fellow Asian students to join. He joined a more multicultural organization called the Vietnamese Students of America or VSA.

“VSA includes students of a larger variety of Asian ethnicities, not just Hmong students, there I get to learn about far more Asian cultures and it is the perfect level of abnormality, not too little to bore me, but not too much to make me feel uncomfortable,” Yang said.

These same sentiments of wanting to be around others who have a similar racial and ethnic make up can explain why Hmong people are primarily exclusive in Midwestern states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. Their other roommate, Kyle Sung who is Korean and from Maryland, had no clue about the Hmong ethnicity until he arrived at the university.

“Yeah, at first when I came here I was like, Hmong, is that some type of food,” said Sung, laughing and looking at his Hmong roommates, “I mean I’m Korean, so I figured I knew all other ethnicities from Southeast Asia, but I guess I didn’t until I came here.

Hmong immigrants are different from a lot of immigrant populations because when the first generations arrived in the U.S., many were fleeing war prosecution. They fled the war in Vietnam as a result of them helping the U.S. military in their efforts to fight the communist government (Hmong American Center). The states that were the most accepting of Hmong immigrants turned out to be midwestern states like Wisconsin and Minnesota (PBS Wisconsin).

However, both Chang and Yang’s families did not move to America in that first generation. Instead, Chang’s parents moved to Wisconsin after working in California in the ‘90s. His parents had a lot of relatives in Wisconsin and wanted to be near family. Chang shares the same desire to stay near family and live in a predominately Hmong community, as once he graduates, he hopes to stay in the Midwest in either Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Yang’s dad shares a similar story as Chang’s, he moved to La Crosse from California once he was able to in order to stay near family.

“My Dad at first wanted to live in California, once he moved to the States,” said Yang, “but once he made some money, he knew he would rather be with family, so he decided to move to Wisconsin.”

Family is a crucial part of Hmong culture and explains why Hmong immigration continues to rise in Wisconsin. By staying in communities with members of similar ethnicity, Hmong people in Wisconsin have been able to provide safe spaces for one another in a predominantly white state, which promotes them to continue moving to Wisconsin and attending the universities.

From left to right: Evan Yang, Kyle Sung, Tyler Auth and Brendan Chang

Brendan Chang (left) and Kyle Sung (right) at HASA fundraising event

Brendan Chang (left) and Tyler Auth (right) at HASA tailgate

12 Dec

How a student from Sydney, Australia found himself in Madison, Wisconsin

Photo by Ollie Akayan

By Grace Friedman

For Oliver Akayan (Ollie) the story begins with a love of American football and a trip to a thrift store in Sydney, Australia.

Ollie, a current junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, dreamt of going to college in the United States of America since he was a young man.

“It all started with my love of sports,” said Akayan. “I started watching college football, and I just found it amazing that you could be at a school and there would be these high level athletes playing in stadiums of thousands of people.”

Raised in a completely different social climate in Sydney, Australia, Ollie was also fascinated by the stereotypical college experience: Greek life, dorm rooms, community; all of which served as motivators for Ollie applying to various U.S. universities.

“Ollie was very keen to go to the United States,” said Alison Akayan, Ollie’s mom.

Ollie had been to the U.S. a number of times, mainly Hawaii due to the geographical closeness to Australia, but he had also taken a few trips to DC to visit his relatives, and to LA to visit Disneyland, three very common tourist locations for international travelers.

“I had never even been close to the Midwest,” said Akayan. “I remember looking at photos of Wisconsin and thinking that there is no way I am going to the University of Wisconsin, that was genuinely something I thought.”

After a college counselor in Australia heard that he wanted to go to a college with a big sports team, she encouraged Ollie to apply to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He soon began feeling more comfortable with the idea of expanding his vision of what an American university would look like.

Some time later, while at a thrift store in Sydney, Ollie stumbled upon a very specific article of clothing, a Wisconsin sweatshirt, which quickly became the favorite piece of clothing in his closet, and later served as yet another sign for Ollie to pursue this dream.

Shortly after buying this iconic piece of clothing, Ollie was given the opportunity to attend the Rose Bowl and see Wisconsin play Oregon. In the stadium, Ollie sat with a group of Oregon fans who encouraged him to apply to the Univeristy of Wisconsin. “It was really bizarre,” said Akayan. “Despite both of their kids going to the University of Oregon, both of them said I had probably get a better degree and title at Wisconsin.”

When continued encouragement from other sources persisted, Ollie settled on the University of Wisconsin and has not looked back.

“I was really impressed with the response that he received when he applied there,” said Alison. “So when the offer came through, we decided to accept it, even though we hadn’t been for a visit.”

*Ollie wearing the infamous thrift store sweatshirt*

Nearly halfway through his third year in Wisconsin, Ollie continues to talk about this experience with contentment. “I absolutely love every aspect of it, minus the cold,” Akayan laughs, “I have created this amazing network of people that genuinely care about me. It is just phenomenal.”

With a 17-hour time difference to reach his friends and family at home, it has been imperative that Ollie build a network in Madison that feels like home. Ollie joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and Alpha Kappa Psi Business organization shortly after arriving in Madison which introduced him to individuals who have quickly become his American family.

Ollie even had the opportunity to travel to Minnesota last year and South Carolina this year, to celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday unfamiliar to him, with friends he has made through the University.

“I’ve never been in a position where someone might just open up their house to me for a week,” Akayan said, “to celebrate something when they know I don’t have access to my own home.”

After visiting Ollie in October for the first time, Akayan’s mom was relieved to see her son attending college in such a beautiful place, surrounded by so many people that love him so much.

“We love his friends and the support that he has on campus,” said Alison, “it feels like sending him to Wisconsin was the best thing we could have done.”

While Wisonsin may not be as iconic a location as Bondi Beach or the Sydney Opera house, it has offered Ollie emotional connections that he will treasure for a lifetime.

“The beauty of the Midwest is captured in its people,” said Akayan. “Everyone I meet here is a lot more welcoming than back home. It’s quite different.”

While the thrift store Wisconsin sweatshirt ultimately became an important material possession to Ollie, he was sad to admit he later lost it.

“I was initally really sad to have lost it,” said Akayan, “but then I realized it had served its purpose, it was a full circle, it brought me to Wisconsin and then I lost it in Wisconsin.”

While Wisconsin has offered Akayan many important experiences and connections, Ollie has offered a unique perspective to the UW-Madison campus as well, as noted by his closest friends.

“A lot of people are the same at Wisconsin,” said Drew Friedman, one of Ollie’s closest friends, “because he is is from Australia, Ollie brings a uniqueness that is extremely beneficial to the people around him.”

At the University of Wisconsin, only 14% of the student undergraduate population is international. Therefore students like Ollie have a disproportionately large impact on the culture of the University.

“Ollie brings a nice change from the people that you’re used to meeting,” said Friedman, a student at the University who had never had an Australian friend before, “and isn’t that the importance of going to college.”

According to Ollie, making the courageous decision to study at the University of Wisconsin was one of the best decisions he could have made, and his peers on campus could not be more grateful that he did.

“I am honored to have met Ollie,” said Friedman, “my college experience would not have been the same without him, and Madison is better off with him here.”

12 Dec

In Photos: A walk through Mercado Marimar

Photos by Camila Trimberger.

By Camila Trimberger

Nearly 450,000 Latines live in Wisconsin, taking up about 7% of the state. With such a small and sparse population (with the exceptions of Milwaukee and farming communities such as Abbotsford), immigrant placemaking in Wisconsin is incredibly important. One way Latine populations make room for themselves in majority white areas is through grocery stores. Individually owned, they offer brands and ingredients essential to Latin cuisines, aisles filled with Catholic memorabilia, and a place for Latinos to convene. Follow along through a series of photos from Mercado Marimar, a store in Madison popular among UW’s Latino student population, along with the author’s personal connection to these stores.

I found out about Mercado Marimar through the Latinx Cultural Center when I was a freshman on campus. They gave us a list of resources including restaurants, student orgs and stores.

When I was a kid my mom would always shop at a place called La Conquistadora in Sheboygan, which I just always called “the Mexican store.” I remember the first thing she always bought was a phone card from the lady behind the checkout so she could call our family back home.

While “Mexican stores” are pretty much all individually owned, they are all virtually the same on the inside. Handmade piñatas line the ceilings along with images of La Virgencita Plis (a popular children’s character of the Virgin Mary).

Mi Costeñita sells everything. Every Latine market I’ve been to is lined with these iconic bags filled with spices, snacks, and more. Since I can remember I’ve opted for garbanzos con chile and cacahuates japonéses.

In the back you can find the butchers speaking in Spanish while cutting up meats such as lengua, pastor and carnitas. Here in Madison the butchers are all adults, but when I was in high school I remember ordering from my classmates.

12 Dec

Paul’s Pel’meni puts a twist on Russian cuisine in Madison

The restaurant’s menu made a name for itself with one item: dumplings. Photo by Rachel Hale.

By Rachel Hale

Paul’s Pelmeni makes one thing, and they make them well: Russian dumplings. Though the restaurant’s local fame comes from its one-item menu, late-night dumpling connoisseurs may not be aware that owner Paul Schwoerer’s recipe originated 2,907 miles from Madison in Jeaneau, Alaska.

“People are always surprised when they come in. They’re like, ‘oh, do you guys speak Russian?” said Paul’s employee Antonio Winters. “Traditionally in Russia, they just add butter and sour cream. But then Paul came up with these toppings.”

Described by some as “the heart of Russian cuisine,” traditional Pelmeni dumplings are usually stuffed with a minced meat like pork or beef and seasoned simply with salt, pepper and garlic. But at Paul’s, Winters said Schwoerer’s recipe puts an “asian fusion” spin on the classic, topping dumplings with what they call “the works”: butter, sprinkled yellow curry powder, sweet chili sauce, a smattering of cilantro and a spoonful of sour cream.

Photo by Rachel Hale.

Raised in Madison, Schwoerer moved to Tenakee Springs, Alaska, as a senior in high school. It was once he moved to Juneau, where he started working for a friend’s dad making traditional Russian dumplings by hand, that he learned the recipe, reported Madison Magazine. After three years of learning the trade, he was able to bring the craft back with him when he returned home.

The team that helps the restaurant run is primarily composed of University of Wisconsin-Madison students, according to Winters. For the nine years Winters has been on staff, he said Schwoerer has always been hands-on in the restaurant.

“Paul, you may think he’d be somewhere on the beach smoking cigars, eating steak and relaxing. He’s working just as hard as any other employee here. He was just here actually making dumplings,” Winters said.

The restaurant has been located at 414 W Gilman St. since 2017, but its journey started nearly 20 years ago. Schwoerer originally opened up a Pel’meni shop at a State Street location in 2003 with a different business partner. The pair split, but Schwoerer later continued to serve the dumplings at luch times while working at Oasis Cafe in Fitchburg. In 2013, he opened a new location at 201 W. Gorham St., but with just six tables and a spike in rent prices, he sought out a larger space, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

“It’s always been a UW favorite. We still have people that say, ‘oh, my brother, my sister used to love it here. So it’s a generational thing. It’s always good to see that,” Winters said.

Walking into the restaurant on a weekday afternoon, the space feels unassuming. Customers sit at one of the main room’s wooden tables or take a seat at the bar as Norah Jones’s “Come Away with Me” revererates out of the speakers. Photos on the wall pay homage to Schowerer’s time spent in Alaska, and the state flag is painted on an accented ceiling tile on the side of the main room.

Photos by Rachel Hale.

Madison locals have watched Paul’s grow from each location. Shia Fisher, an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who grew up in the area, called the restaurant “a staple.”

“My friends and I, we would always go for the dumplings because they were quite large, very filling and the atmosphere was really nice. They played these vinyl records and I still remember the orange walls and you know you walk in and just have the aroma immediately. That’s the Paul’s that I remember,” Fisher said.

Photos by Rachel Hale.

Loyal customers have followed the dumplings’ journey on, Yelp reviews where the restaurant has raked up 609 reviews and a 4.5 star rating.

“Best pelmeni I’ve had! This is a small place right by the Capitol and campus that is open until the wee hours of the morning so you can get your fix after a night out,” wrote Vivian C. on June 1. “I liked these so much that I came back later that day to order 2 more full orders for later in the week!”

“Love this place. They keep it simple with only a couple options on the menu. Solid, affordable, and unique,” another reviewer wrote.

What’s the secret to a recipe that’s remained a staple for so long? Keeping it simple, says Winters. “Everything’s homemade with local ingredients. We make it right here in the building we’re in, and just keeping up with that itself is already hard to do.”

“When students go to their favorite restaurant, they most likely order the same thing. And you get overwhelmed with 30 options even though people like it differently but with us, the reason why people like us is because we get orders in and out right away. We have two kinds of dumplings and dumplings only,” Winters said.

For Madisonians who have watched the city change, seeing the restaurant’s menu stay the same is a nice constant.

“Madison has had a lot a lot of changes. In some respects, it’s nice that you still have the same business owners running some of this,” Fisher said.

Photos by Rachel Hale.