Sven’s Cafe in Bay View Has Closed

Sven’s Cafe. Photo taken November 13th, 2014 by Jeramey Jannene.

The future of Sven’s Cafe (2699 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) hangs in the balance now that the sale of both the business and building has fallen through.

Earlier this month, the Bay View Compass reported that the property had been sold following the decision of Sven’s owner Steve Goretzko to close the cafe. According to a post on Facebook, the daily demands of the cafe became “too much” for Goretzko, who also operates a roasting and wholesaling business called Sven’s Organic Coffee Company.

According to the July 8th post, the business and building had already been sold to “a young couple that does not live in Bay View.” Shorewest Realtors listed the sale of the business and building as “active with-offer” on July 1st, but the property was back on the market by July 9th.

According to the property’s listing agent, Justin Ippoliti, the original offer did not close. While Ippoliti could not reveal specific details about the contract, he did tell Urban Milwaukee that the reasoning was financial in nature. “There were a few contingencies in the offer that did not get satisfied,” he said.

Sven’s Cafe was initially slated to reopen in August after the original sale had been finalized. It is unclear if and when the cafe might make its return.

The 1,288-square-foot building was built in 1956. Shorewest Realtors originally priced the business and building at $390,000, but repriced both at $350,000 on July 10th. According to the listing, $140,000 of improvements have been made to the building during Goretzko’s occupancy. Goretzko originally opened Sven’s in 2004.