City Tours and Discourse Partnering On Walker’s Point Cafe
Station 1846 will be home base for tour groups, offering snacks and unique beverages.
215 W. Bruce St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
City Tours MKE is known for highlighting the best of Milwaukee’s food and beer during its excursions throughout the city. Starting this fall, the company will also offer an on-site taste of locally-crafted food and beverages at the start and end of every tour.
City Tours will partner with experimental coffee and cocktail purveyor, Discourse, to open a cafe as part of its new Walker’s Point headquarters, Station 1846.
Housed in a repurposed automotive garage at 215 W. Bruce St., the headquarters will also function as an event venue and operation hub for the company’s fleet of five-passenger electric vehicles and two 15-passenger buses.
“We were just looking for a home base,” said owner Meghan Miles. “And Walker’s Point definitely seemed like the right spot.”
The cafe will offer craft cocktails and mocktails, while also bringing a “unique coffee experience to Milwaukee,” said Miles, noting the proximity to Anodyne and Vendetta Coffee Bar.
“We just wanted to bring something new and something fresh on the coffee end,” she said.
Discourse, led by Ryan Castelaz and Sean Liu, operates cafes downtown and at the Milwaukee Art Museum, as well as a non-alcoholic bar, The Counter, at Crossroads Collective.
Since its 2021 debut in Milwaukee, the business has been known for shaking up tradition, applying bold and inventive flavor combinations in a wide range of beverages.
Castelaz, who recently brought new meaning to the term coffee table book with “The New Art of Coffee,” will spearhead the menu at the upcoming cafe.
In addition to beverages, guests can also look forward to an assortment of snacks, bakery and finger foods such as pizza, which will be readily available between tours.
City Tours has been using Pilot Project Brewing in The Brewery District as a home base, but has never had a permanent space of its own.
City Tours MKE closed on the building back in February, said Miles, noting that its location along the existing tour route was a selling point. The new space will allow the company to expand its offerings while increasing foot-traffic and visibility.
Renovations to the 2,617-square-foot building are expected to take several months, said Miles, who estimates that the new headquarters will be ready to open in September.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
