Milwaukee-based Two Birds Event Group has continued on a growth trajectory over the past year, with the addition of a fourth venue and launch of a new wedding planning service. In March, the business struck a deal with the Milwaukee County Historical Society to host private and public events at its iconic downtown headquarters and
Milwaukee-based Two Birds Event Group has continued on a growth trajectory over the past year, with the addition of a fourth venue and launch of a new wedding planning service.
In March, the business struck a deal with the Milwaukee County Historical Society to host private and public events at its iconic downtown headquarters and museum, located at 910 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, adjacent to Pere Marquette Park. Known as The Society, the event space joins Two Birds' other venues The Ivy House and Filament MKE in Walker’s Point and The Starling, which opened in 2022in the Historic Third Ward.
Two Birds has been the Historical Society's events partner for nearly a year now, but up until a couple of weeks ago, all bar operations were still being outsourced to Milwaukee-based Zilli Hospitality Group as the venue's previously contracted exclusive beverage service provider. Two Birds recently took over that contract, which required obtaining the necessary liquor licenses from the city.
Now with full control over The Society's event operations, Two Birds has its sights set on doubling bookings for both weddings and corporate and nonprofit functions at the venue, from a current average of about 20 weddings and five corporate/nonprofit events per year, said Two Birds co-owner Tyler Curran.
"The reason the Historical Society brought us along was to help increase bookings, increase notoriety around Milwaukee and just activate the space in general," said Curran, who co-founded Two Birds in 2016 with Ramsey Renno. The duo launched their flagship venture Milwaukee Airwaves, a DJ and event entertainment company, in 2010.
[caption id="attachment_582897" align="alignleft" width="650"] The Society events venue at the Milwaukee County Historical Society in downtown Milwaukee. Photo credit: Liller Photo[/caption]
Ripe with potential
With its historical significance, stunning architecture as a former bank and scenic location along the Milwaukee River, the MCHS building speaks for itself. It's now up to Two Birds to "get it on more people's radars" and promote it as a gathering place for locals and visitors alike, said Curran.
This year presents an especially unique opportunity for The Society -- and the rest of downtown Milwaukee's event venues and local hospitality companies -- with the 2024 Republican National Convention coming to town. The more than 50,000 visitors expected to descend on Milwaukee for the four-day spectacle will not only convene at Fiserv Forum for official proceedings but also at venues across the city for hundreds of other functions such as campaign fundraisers and celebratory dinners. Curran said The Society team has been in close contact with RNC organizers and hopes to get the venue booked out by the end of the first quarter.
"We’re showing it about every other week right now to some really good potential options," he said. "This location close to Fiserv (Forum) makes it a really, really nice option for any sort of private event during the RNC."
Curran also hinted at plans to lean more heavily on the adjacent Pere Marquette Park for public and community events during warmer months.
"When you look at Milwaukee in years past, there were many more social functions for families to be able to go to, from music out there to movies in the park, things like that," he said. "That’s what we do, that’s why we wanted to partner with the Historical Society, so we’re going to be helping that and part of that for the next 10 years it looks like."
Sustaining growth
In 2023, Two Birds put on more than 300 events at its four venues, and the company is "looking at eclipsing that number in 2024," said Curran. In addition to expanding into another venue, Two Birds last year also added a new wedding planning arm, known as The Journey. The business launched in December, in response to demand for additional touchpoints in the wedding planning process.
"For years now we've been the venue, we’ve been the DJ, we’ve been the bar; clients have asked us for years if there is anything more we can do to plan the experience. We have all this expertise and knowledge and passion for events and weddings that it just made sense that we move forward with that," said Curran.
Behind Two Birds' continued growth is a team of more than 100 employees -- what Curran calls "the lifeblood of the entire company."
"We don’t just make maneuvers to make maneuvers, we don’t just grow to grow," he said. "We do pass on a lot of projects every year and we only take the ones we feel we can thrive in and our staff can thrive in."
