Sweet Connie’s Cafe is Closed
King Drive cafe operated for less than a year.
Sweet Connie’s Cafe, 1031 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Photo taken March 4, 2025 by Sophie Bolich.
Sweet Connie’s Cafe has permanently closed its Downtown Milwaukee location at 1031 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., less than a year after opening.
The Tuesday morning announcement followed a challenging run for co-owners Shelley Wiley and Consuela Towns, who faced a series of delays—logistical, financial and personal—following the cafe’s initial proposal in 2023.
The partners financed the project out of pocket, working multiple jobs to fund the buildout and launching a catering service while waiting for the brick-and-mortar space to be complete.
“It’s been nothing but stress the last three years,” Wiley told Urban Milwaukee in March 2025. “I’ve basically sunk my entire life savings into this building, and [Towns] sunk the last three years and everything that she could spare.”
Sweet Connie’s officially launched last spring. Around the same time, Towns shared she had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. She continued as co-owner and executive chef throughout treatment—baking, serving and chatting with customers throughout the cafe’s final weeks.
Towns had major surgery in May, and has since been focused on healing “physically, emotionally, and spiritually,” she shared in an update posted to GoFundMe, which has raised $2,040 of its $4,000 goal.
“We truly appreciate the support from all of you and hope our location was more than just a coffee shop,” the owners wrote in a social media post.
At the time of its closure, Sweet Connie’s offered coffee and espresso drinks, teas, baked goods and panini, along with a small retail section stocked with local products.
The cafe had ambitious plans to expand with a private event space, smoothie bar and lounge area in a separate portion of the long, narrow building. Wiley and Towns also hoped to install planters for homegrown ingredients, such as herbs and lavender, to use in food and drinks.
Sweet Connie’s replaced The Spice House‘s flagship, which operated in the street-level commercial space for more than six decades before closing in early 2023.
Seth Dehne co-owns the King Drive building with his brother Jake Dehne. They purchased the building in June 2021, and also co-own the nearby Lucky Clover, State Street Pizza Pub and Red, White and Blue bars and restaurants.
Wiley did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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.
