Distillery Buys Part of Harley-Davidson Campus

Harley-Davidson headquarters and Davidson Park. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee’s motorcycle headquarters is one step closer to finding its next life.

Central Standard Craft Distillery completed its purchase of a 73,000-square-foot portion of the historic Harley-Davidson complex. The distillery is moving its production facility to a collection of attached, one-story brick buildings at the western edge of Harley-Davidson’s headquarters, 3700 W. Juneau Ave.

The distillery purchased its new home for $1 million. According to Wisconsin Department of Revenue real estate transfer records, the distillery closed on the purchase on June 18 and reported the deal to the state on June 20.

The purchase price reflects the dramatic growth of the distillery. In 2017, co-founder Evan Hughes paid $335,000 for the company’s current distillery, 2330 W. Clybourn St. In 2021, it purchased the location of its Downtown tasting room and restaurant for $935,000 through a limited liability company.

But this is a particularly big addition: The distillery hopes to grow its production by 20 times with its latest move.

“We started Central Standard Craft Distillery to be a part of Milwaukee and grow with it. This partnership and expansion continue to affirm that mission,” said co-founder and president, Pat McQuillan in an early June statement announcing the Harley-Davidson deal. “With this purchase, we’re excited to deepen our roots in the city we love, and to show our commitment and investment in the Milwaukee community.”

The new facility, being designed by prior Harley-Davidson and Central Standard collaborator HGA, is expected to include references to its historic use as a motorcycle manufacturing plant. Central Standard anticipates adding tours and a large tasting room to the distillery.

Starting with a dramatic shift to remote work at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harley-Davidson has reshaped its corporate campus. Last year, the motorcycle manufacturer opened Davidson Park on former parking lots on the campus and, subject to the outcome of a contentious CEO search, could scale back or end its work-from-home policy and reactivate much of the headquarters complex.

Guests will access the new Central Standard facility by entering off of N. 38th Street, which also provides access to Davidson Park and Harley-Davidson University.

Central Standard expanded into Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan in 2024. It also added a line of bourbon cream liqueurs and a ready-to-drink (RTD) product line partnership with Leinenkugel’s. The latter, the company says, has far outperformed expectations.

“With the success of our Crafthouse & Kitchen, as well as the regional growth of our spirits and [ready-to-drink] products, this expansion presents the perfect timing and opportunity for continued strategic growth,” said Hughes in a statement. “We’re well-positioned to exponentially grow our production capacity, to continue to meet consumer demand for our offerings, and to engage with the Milwaukee community in new and exciting ways.”

According to the deed posting, the ownership structure of the Harley-Davidson complex is being restructured into a condominium model to accommodate how interconnected the buildings are.

Central Standard was founded in 2014 and opened the W. Clybourn Street facility in 2017. The company hopes to open the new facility in 2026.

Renderings

Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.