New Cafe and Bakery to Serve Delta-9 Infused Items on Brady Street
The High Crowd is expected to open in July with a menu of bakery, beverages and more.
1229-1233 E. Brady St. in 2020. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Brady Street‘s newest cafe will cater to the high-minded — though not in the traditional sense.
The High Crowd, selling delta-9 and THC-infused items, plans to open next month at 1229 E. Brady St., augmenting the city’s recreational cannabis scene while still adhering to state law.
But how is that possible?
The cafe, whose initials are a winking reference to THC, will stock a variety of products — teas, juices, baked goods — infused with hemp-derived delta-9 THC, the primary psychoactive component found in cannabis.
In Wisconsin, where recreational marijuana is illegal, products are limited to 0.3% THC by volume, thanks to a loophole resulting from the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp and its derivatives.
Since then, products containing delta-8 and delta-9 THC have proliferated in the local market, from gas stations and vape shops to boutique dispensaries such as Kind Oasis and TerraSol.
A number of local cocktail bars, breweries and bakeries also use the compound in their products.
The High Crowd will be the latest addition, with plans to serve a variety of teas, lattes, lemonades and baked goods containing a customizable level of delta-9 THC.
An online menu features teas such as london fog, matcha matte and pomegranate peach tea; lattes including pistachio, caramel maple and chocolate lava mocha; and lemonades in flavors like watermelon and strawberry. The cafe also sells infused brownies, cookies, cupcakes and other sweet treats.
The Milwaukee cafe will be the third location for the chain, which also operates in Chicago and Madison. The growing business is a project of Surma Hormozi, Hanru Mormozi and Sargon Odisho.
In a license application, the trio indicated that they plan to open in July. The High Crowd secured its food dealers license in a special Licenses Committee meeting on June 11; the business has not requested a liquor license.
In addition to food and drink — all of which can be enjoyed on-site — The High Crowd touts its large selection of board games.
The Brady Street building was previously home to Pass Me Da Hookah Lounge, which closed June 1. In the following days, co-owner Ed Calloway shared his candid thoughts about the closure in a social media post, noting that the business wasn’t “welcomed with open arms on Brady Street.”
“Thanks to all that supported us while we were open,” the post said. “The odds were stacked against us so we just shut it down. We have other businesses that we are focusing on but we’ll be back stronger and better then [sic] ever.”
In 2023, Pass Me Da Hookah applied for a food dealers license with plans to serve frozen pizza; however, area Alderman Jonathan Brostoff moved to deny the license during the November 7 hearing, citing previous violations from the business that he said constituted “red flags.”
Additional information on The High Crowd, including an opening date and hours of operation, will be shared on the business’s website.
A representative of The High Crowd did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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It would be nice if all those types of business could find a strip of storefronts and the area would develop a reputation, being known as ” Little Amsterdam. ” Those are memories I have of Chicago’s ” Pipers Alley.” Why is there no develop along the many inland abandoned railroad right aways???