Experimental Coffee Bar Will Open at Crossroads Collective
Discourse relocated to Milwaukee from Door County in 2021.
Moonwater craft coffee. Image from Discourse.
Crossroads Collective, 2238 N. Farwell Ave., will soon be home to an experimental coffee bar.
Discourse, which bills itself as “a liquid workshop,” will open at the East Side food hall.
The coffee purveyor was founded in Sister Bay, WI in 2017, but made the move from Door County to Milwaukee in 2021. It operated as a pop-up at various locations for the past year.
The business was created by Milwaukee-native Ryan Castelaz and is now jointly operated with Olivia Molter, director of design, and Sean Liu, director of operations.
“We are so, so excited for this next chapter in the Discourse story,” said Castelaz, who serves as the creative director, in a statement. “Sean, Olivia, and I are incredibly excited to share our unique vision for coffee service with the city of Milwaukee, one that has been germinating in our heads for many years.”
The initial menu calls for eight offerings that, according to a press release, “range from imaginative takes on coffee shop staples such as caramel and vanilla lattes, to completely novel, culinary-inspired experiences like Crenn, an exploding sphere filled with an assortment of coffees, teas, and juices.”
Those “craft” offerings will rotate quarterly. A series of “art” drinks will rotate monthly and have an emphasis on seasonable, sustainable ingredients. Discourse will also sell chocolate, biscotti and packaged coffee.
“Art series offerings will be the culmination of everything I’ve learned in my career as a drink maker, and feature wild ingredients, wild preparations, and wild ideas,” said Castelaz. “Our drinks strive to incorporate a balance of all five tastes, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami, as opposed to just the two most commonly associated with the coffee experience – sweet and bitter.”
Discourse is filling the stall that most recently housed Mina, a European street food concept from Ryan Hoffman and Patrice Gentile. The owners announced they were working on a new concept.
Discourse is the second new vendor announced for the space this month. Dia Bom Latin Asian Fusion from chef Ramsés Alvaréz will replace Heaven’s Table BBQ, which relocated to a stand-alone restaurant.
Crossroads, owned and operated by New Land Enterprises, opened in 2018 and hosts eight stalls for small vendors and a shared kitchen.
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