The long-running Downer Wine & Spirits on Milwaukee’s East Side is recently under new ownership.
Local residents and friends Tonit Calaway and Sarah Zimmerman purchased the neighborhood liquor store, 2638 N. Downer Ave., earlier this month from brothers Mark and Steve Nord, who had owned the business for nearly 18 years.
The new owners — operating under their newly formed entity Boss Babes Inc. — don’t plan to make any major changes to the curated selection of wines, spirits and beers and overall store experience customers, themselves included, have come to expect from Downer Wine & Spirits. Their intention is instead to keep a neighborhood fixture in tact while building on “the personal interaction and knowledge of customer preferences fostered by the Nords during their nearly two decades of ownership,” according to a news release.
They also plan to enhance the store’s existing slate of tasting events, featuring a broader range of wine selections. The store also recently launched a new wine club rewards program. Steve Nord will continue on as the store’s general manager.
“This neighborhood has always been so important to me and my family, and the store is a mainstay of the Downer Avenue corridor,” Calaway said. “It’s important to Sarah and me that it continue to thrive, as well as the neighborhood and the other businesses on Downer Avenue. As longtime customers ourselves, we are excited to get to know our customers and understand how to meet their needs.”
Both women have built distinguished careers: Calaway is an executive at Michigan-based auto supplier BorgWarner Inc. and an investor in entertainment and hospitality ventures, and Zimmerman is a former attorney who now serves on several local nonprofit boards, including the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Lynden Sculpture Garden and the HAPA Foundation.
The duo learned separately of the Nords’ plans to sell Downer Wine & Liquor and the topic later came up unexpectedly in conversation, which led them to consider going into business to purchase the store together.
Calaway travels extensively and is knowledgeable about wine, and Zimmerman, who is the granddaughter of late Milwaukee philanthropist Jane Bradley Pettit, comes from a family with a long history in brewing in Milwaukee, dating back to the original Joseph Schlitz brewery. Both said they have a desire to learn everything they can about the beverage industry, according to the release.
“It’s not that we were looking to start a store – it’s that we love this store and this neighborhood and want to see them continue to thrive,” Zimmerman said.
