Nearly three years after Stone Creek Coffee closed its cafe at Radio Milwaukee in Walker’s Point, the station has finally found a new tenant to take over the ground-floor storefront.
That tenant is Milwaukee-based craft coffee business Discourse, which plans to open an “all-day cafe” there in January 2024, according to a Wednesday news release from Radio Milwaukee. Inspired by European sidewalk cafes, the concept will feature an espresso bar serving an array of classic and craft drinks, experimental beverages and a seasonal food menu.
It’ll be Discourse’s third coffee shop location in downtown Milwaukee and the fourth one it’s opened since entering the local market in 2021, initially as a pop-up before establishing a physical location at Crossroads Collective Food Hall on the East Side in early 2022 and then a cafe at the Milwaukee Art Museum just a couple months later.
Discourse opened its flagship stand-alone location at the Direct Supply Innovation & Technology Center at 1020 N. Broadway on MSOE’s campus in September 2022 and in turn closed its stand at Crossroads Collective.
Discourse’s forthcoming cafe at Radio Milwaukee, 220 E. Pittsburgh Ave., represents the “full evolution” of what founder and creative director Ryan Castelaz envisions for the brand.
“Radio has been an important part of my life for a long time and the way Radio Milwaukee approaches storytelling and music discovery strongly parallels the way we aim to tell stories through flavor at Discourse,” said Castelaz, who originally launched Discourse in 2017 in Sister Bay, Door County, and now co-owns the business with partner Sean Liu.
“Our Walker’s Point home is an integral part of the way we build community,” said Maxie C. Jackson III, executive director of Radio Milwaukee. “Having a place for folks to gather, connect and share ideas is the reason why we own and operate our own space. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been missing a tenant in our cafe space and we are thrilled to have found a partnership in Discourse Coffee that we are confident will add to the neighborhood and serve our listeners.”
This is Radio Milwaukee’s second run at activating the space since Stone Creek left in 2020. Plans were announced in fall of 2021 for a new “sound cafe,” dubbed Deadwax, which would open as part of a 333-square-foot expansion and complete remodel of the cafe area and addition of a back kitchen area. None of those plans came to fruition due to pandemic-induced supply chain issues and increased construction costs.
“This increase in cost made the cafe construction not financially prudent for the organization at the time,” a Radio Milwaukee spokesperson said Wednesday.
Discourse will now carry out the task of renovating the ground-floor space. The project will include adding a small kitchen for the cafe’s seasonal food program, being spearheaded by Discourse pastry chef Frankie Hartmann. The menu will include sandwiches, salads, soups, boards, patisserie and dessert, made with ingredients sourced from local producers.
In addition to its mainstay selection of espresso-based beverages and pour-over and by-the-cup teas, Discourse will serve craft cocktails, no- and low-proof spritzes, and beer and wine in the evenings. The full menu for the cafe will be released in late 2023.
The public is invited to sample Discourse’s offerings during the station’s upcoming fall membership drive, Oct. 2-6 and Oct. 9-13. Discourse will host a pop-up at the station each day of the drive from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the building will be open to the public.
