Chef Andy aims for the ‘almost impossible’ at Picasso Moon

Matthew Day

Staff

October 20, 2025

ALLOUEZ – After nearly four decades of crafting countless meals, Andrew ‘Chef Andy’ Mueller is embarking on a new chapter in his career with the opening of Picasso Moon – located at 1235 S. Webster Ave. in Allouez. 

“I’m taking on a role not only as the owner but as the chef… and the creator of all the menu items,” he said. 

There, with a small, “exhibition” kitchen open to a 24-capacity dining room/bar, Mueller said he feels truly at home.  

The setting is a fresh experience not just for him and his loyal patrons – who have followed his culinary journey through the years – but for all diners, as this marks the first time the building has ever been home to a restaurant.

New as it is, Mueller said the location is nonetheless comfortable and inviting – adorned with works from local artists, and both patronized and staffed by those who appreciate his own creative conduits: “exceptional food and handcrafted cocktails.” 

Per Picasso Moon’s Facebook page, examples from its updated-weekly menu include entrees like pistachio-crusted salmon and lemon-garlic chicken cavatappi and desserts like chocolate-caramel Viennese torte. 

In the restaurant, Mueller said it’s inspiring to create while surrounded by original artwork and a spirit of cultivated taste. 

Mueller said he finds it inspiring to create in a space surrounded by original artwork and a cultivated sense of taste, with the walls primarily featuring paintings by Green Bay artist Heather Peterman – whom he considers a creative peer, though she works in a different medium.

“As [Peterman] would use the canvas to create her art, my canvas is the plate – and people seem to appreciate that,” he said. 

Crediting the reputation he’s built up regionally, Mueller said Picasso Moon has been “very well received” since it opened late last month. 

“So far, it’s been wonderful,” he said. “People appreciate the size – that it’s not a massive place that is cookie-cutter in any way – everything from the decor to the food to the service.” 

The man in the Moon 

Mueller said his culinary education began early, thanks to “a phenomenal cook” – his mother. 

“She actually knew I was going to be a chef before I did, but she never told me that – never influenced me – because she wanted to just let me be who I was and do what I wanted to do,” he said. 

While studying at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Mueller said he happened to take a job cooking in a bar for its late-night patrons. 

“I worked at a place that was open at bar time, which kept me working instead of spending, which was a great habit to get into,” he said. “But the owner said, ‘You know, you have a knack for [cooking] – did you ever consider pursuing it?’” 

Though a culinary career hadn’t yet crossed his mind, Mueller said it began to make more sense. 

“I found out that I wanted to use my head, my hands and my heart – and the food industry really allows you to do that…,” he said. “So, I just kept getting those [types of] jobs and kept seeing some success and good response and feedback, and I’m thinking, ‘Maybe this is the industry I want to be in.’ That was in the late ’80s, and I’ve been in the industry ever since.” 

Mueller said his passion for cooking continued to grow as he developed what his mother described as a culinary “gift.” 

The career opportunities, he said, likewise grew, leading to a chance to take his craft to championship-caliber levels in the mid-1990s. 

“I was given a great opportunity to be the personal chef to Reggie White, the [Green Bay] Packers great – an NFL superstar,” he said. 

After the “pretty intense experience” of passing rounds of background checks, Mueller said he worked daily in the White residence – corresponding with the Packers’ 1996 Super Bowl – preparing food for Reggie – who “could really consume a tremendous amount of food” – 

and his family. 

“I was tasked with not only feeding his children and him but keeping him at his playing weight,” he said. “Because of the amount of effort that they give to become a professional football player, I had to keep him at a high protein and caloric content. So, it wasn’t just having him eat the things you’re supposed to eat to stay healthy – it was [getting Reggie] to eat the things that were [helping him] to bulk up and to gain weight.” 

Amid this private, yet high-profile opportunity, Mueller said he maintained his professionalism while naturally getting to know the Whites. 

This, he said, led to the creation of a television show – “Sports Cooking” – with Reggie’s wife, Sara, and co-host Dan Davies. 

Mueller said he parlayed his culinary reputation into co-creating the Black & Tan Grille in Green Bay, followed by co-ownership of Donny’s Glidden Lodge in Sturgeon Bay in the early 2000s.

When Reggie White passed away in 2004, Mueller said he mourned the loss of a man with whom he mutually shared a family-like bond. 

“The way he approached life as a father, as a husband, as a professional and his spirituality just rubbed off on me in amazing ways to this day,” he said. “We lost a great man when he passed.” 

Building on decades of culinary expertise, Mueller introduced Galley 57 to Allouez in 2016, offering his own spin on the classic supper club.

That restaurant was “a very successful operation for many years,” he said, which he credits to its staff, a timely upswing in the popularity of supper clubs and its Fox River-side location. 

The latter, Mueller said, was unfortunately beyond his control, and when the building’s owner suddenly informed him that he’d sold the property to be redeveloped, Mueller had six months to find a new location and attempt to reestablish. 

Though he ultimately relocated Galley 57 to Bellevue, which “turned out to be okay,” he said “if I had [to do] it all over again, I don’t think I would have done that.” 

“In hindsight, we’re all geniuses, but those experiences build us, and they help us grow and become what we are,” he said. 

Mueller said he has no shortage of unique experiences banked up, including “a little shot with Guy Fieri on Food Network.”  

“We were on there representing the Green Bay Packers, and that was a blast,” he said. “There were a lot of things that [happened]. When you’re part of it, it’s kind of surreal, and you look back and it’s pretty amazing. But it all comes down to being so passionate about what you do that other people see it. Passion is contagious, and people want to be a part of that.” 

Lunar phase 

At this point, Mueller said his passion to create new dishes and drinks is as high as ever, leaving him no choice but to embrace it. 

“Now, I don’t know how to do anything else,” he laughed. 

After Galley 57, as he sought a new outlet for his edible artistry, Mueller said he began sizing up a building owned by his business partner and – though it was not an obvious candidate – he began to envision its potential as a restaurant. 

“When I looked at this property, it was an old dentist’s office that sat vacant for years,” he said. “I saw a possibility here to create something intimate – something small – where I can really focus on the plate without hiring an incredibly huge staff and trying to be everything for everybody.” 

Mueller said part of his inspiration came from the building’s location in Allouez, where he “grew up” and always felt “a great symbiotic relationship.”  

“When I had to leave Allouez because of the development of the [former Galley 57] property, I really was sad, because I loved Allouez,” he said. “This opportunity came, right on the border of Allouez and Green Bay – but I’m still in Allouez, so that means a lot to me.” 

Though he knew the project would be a “massive undertaking,” Mueller said he simply dove in and spent a year remodeling the space, passing the necessary inspections and obtaining necessary licensure. 

“Things just came together, and it worked out,” he said. “It turned out to be this beautiful restaurant with parking, in Allouez – so I hit the trifecta.” 

As a nod to the creativity within the restaurant-to-be, Mueller said he invoked “one of the great artists of our time,” Pablo Picasso. 

“[Picasso] didn’t really subscribe to any one philosophy, even though he is the creator of Cubism, but he didn’t let anything get in the way of what his creative abilities were,” he said. “He just dug from within and created art, and if people loved it, fantastic. If they didn’t, he just kept going – and that’s kind of the philosophy I’ve adapted to.” 

The “Moon” side of the name, Mueller said, is inspired by the phrase “reach for the moon.” 

“It’s something that almost seems unattainable, but that’s the aspiration, to keep reaching for that,” he said. 

Mueller said he pairs this concept with one of his favorite Picasso quotes: “Everything you can imagine is real” – an ambition crucial for a restaurant like this, where, from the very beginning, ‘practicality was my enemy.”

By late September, Mueller said he had conquered this practical challenge, turning the restaurant he had long imagined – Picasso Moon – into a reality.

More on the menu 

With Picasso Moon, Mueller said he’s also embraced the impracticality of his menu. 

“I can’t let the challenges you hear about and read about prevent me from being who I am, creating what I want to do and surrounding myself with incredible people,” he said. 

Mueller said the menu features new appetizers, flatbread pizzas, salads, “soup of the moment,” entrees, desserts and drinks each week. 

The sole mainstay entree, he said, is his signature filet mignon, served over a gorgonzola crostini with caramelized onions and a cabernet demi-glace. 

“That will always be there,” he said. “That [recipe], I’ve had for more than 30 years. It kind of came to me in a dream. I wrote it down on a piece of paper and woke up the next day and said, ‘I think this is the dish – this is my signature.’” 

Mueller said he utilizes seasonal ingredients for all of his “new concoctions.” 

Working in what he said is a small, “very primitive, very simple” kitchen makes it easier to uphold any chef’s “priority No. 1” – sanitation. 

The lack of square footage, Mueller said, also leaves no room for a freezer, meaning all meals are made exclusively from fresh ingredients. 

With every dish, Mueller said the goal is to accomplish a result as aesthetic as it is appetizing. 

“There is a battle between making things look beautiful and taste wonderful,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s almost impossible to achieve both, but that’s what you’re trying to do.” 

Mueller said he’s compelled to fulfill this food phenomenon “on every plate, every night, [for] every person.”

“That’s a little bit of a challenge, but that’s the motivation,” he said. “You’re trying to achieve something that’s almost not achievable, but that’s the goal, that’s the journey and that’s the reward.” 

‘Unbelievable service’ 

With a smaller restaurant, Mueller said he and his small staff are able to provide greater attention to each customer’s experience. 

“We’re in this to build memories,” he said of the kitchen/bar/service team. 

Compared to his prior ventures, which saw hundreds of customers a night, Mueller said at Picasso Moon, he’s able to personally visit each table. 

“I love to talk to the people who come in,” he said. “Not only to thank them, but if there’s some [menu item or change] they would like to see down the road, [I] have that time to listen, and then [I] can give the people what they want. In a smaller-scale [restaurant], you can actually make it happen.” 

Mueller said he takes the restaurant’s performance personally, while recognizing he “can’t do it alone.”  

“You really have to spend the time to surround yourself with people who have that passion,” he said. “Everyone who’s involved in the kitchen, from the service aspect, from the bar staff – everybody has that same goal in mind, which is to provide unbelievable service.” 

Mueller said to him, these like-minded team members are family. 

“I still, to this day, have people who work here who helped me open Galley 57 in 2016,” he said. 

To his staff and to Picasso Moon’s early supporters – many of whom were also regulars at Galley 57 – Mueller said he’d like to express “a heartfelt thank-you.” 

“There are so many choices, so many places you can go, but when they choose to come in and experience what my vision was, there’s no better reward than that right there,” he said. 

Though Mueller said a grand opening is not feasible – “we’re not big enough to do that” – he hopes word-of-mouth recommendations will lead diners to try Picasso Moon’s “intimate dining experience.” 

He said he hopes his credibility will attract customers, but he’s never been one to rest on his laurels. 

“[My focus] is not, ‘Well, I’ve done this and I’ve done that’ – it doesn’t matter,” he said. “No one cares about that, but they do give you that nod of, ‘He’s proven himself – let’s give him a shot.’ I have to take challenge on every single day, but I love it. That’s what makes me who I am.” 

With creative cocktails, cuisine and conversations, Mueller said he pursued his muse with Picasso Moon, and “we’re pulling it off.”  

“When people experience it, take that chance, they’ll see how amazing it actually can be,” he said. 

For more information, find Picasso Moon on Facebook.