Hudson Business Lounge Shuts Down

COVID-19 was the final straw for at least one Milwaukee business.

The Hudson Business Lounge, a coworking space and cafe in the Historic Third Ward, closed its doors permanently yesterday.

“Utilization of the work center and meeting rooms has been slipping over the past several months. Our amazing staff has been fighting hard to reverse that trend, but with the fast spread of COVID-19 and the imperative for social distancing, the Hudson is simply not equipped to weather this growing storm,” wrote the business to its members on March 13th.

The cafe and bar was scheduled to continue operating through March 27th, but the announcement came before the state closed bars and restaurants to in-house patronage. The cafe served wine and coffee alongside breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Located in the first floor of the Baumbach Building at 310 E. Buffalo St., the business opened in 2012 and featured a number of desks, private offices and meeting rooms. Day passes to use the space started at $29 and monthly passes started at $79.

The business was owned by The Hudson Business Lounge, LLC which lists Gary Lato as its registered agent. Lato and real estate advisor Daniel Walsh were billed as “co managing partners.” Liquor license records indicate they were equal partners in the business.

In announcing the closing, the business asked for tenants to be generous to the staff. “Because this will be a particularly difficult time for our staff, we ask that you keep them in mind for any employment opportunities. Please make sure to visit the Hudson again before the end of the month so you can raise a glass (or perhaps enjoy a shot of “espresso”) and generously tip them in recognition of their years of stellar service. We are sure it will be greatly appreciated,” said the email announcement.

A number of coworking spaces, used by workers that don’t need a full office and enjoy the presence of others, have opened in the city since the Hudson started operating including The Hive, Ward4 Milwaukee and WorkLofts. WeWork, a venture capital-funded startup was scheduled to have an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange before withdrawing its application because of management issues.