Milwaukee's Company Brewing closes its doors in Riverwest neighborhood
MILWAUKEE - Company Brewing in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood announced on social media Tuesday, May 28 that it is closing its doors after nine years in business.
The owners and operators of the brewery and restaurant wrote the following in their Facebook post:
"…our little business on the corner of Center and Fratney has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and we are thankful for every minute of it. You all brought this space to life in ways beyond our biggest dreams of what it could mean to be in the 'Company' of other people. We take pride in the countless beers, celebrations, events, shows, and everyday interactions that our space has hosted. But most importantly, we are grateful for the wealth of joyous energy our community brought us when y'all walked through our doors."
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Company Brewing did not mention why the business is shutting down.
Company Brewing, Milwaukee
When Joey Falcone came for his opening shift at Company Brewing Tuesday morning. He had no idea his boss was going to cut his day short.
"Literally, no one expected this, really," the bartender and server said. "He sits me down and he just very flatly is like "me and my wife have decided we’re going to close down the business.’"
Later on in the day, a message on the company's social media page announced the sudden closure.
The announcement was posted less than two weeks after the Riverwest business celebrated its ninth anniversary.
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"No one in the kitchen knew, marketing people didn’t know, so yeah no one knew," Falcone said. "As far as why they closed, he didn’t really [...] he didn’t really explain."
According to online comments, it was a similar shock to others who had wedding receptions and events scheduled there in the coming weeks.
Peter Jest owns the Shank Hall live music venue. He offered extra hours to Company Brewing former employees and booking dates for bands.
"If we can help some people out, we have open weekends," Jest said. "What’s disappointing is, yes places go out of business, but make it a month in advance so the employees can find something."