Milwaukee Deer District Market back for 2nd year

MILWAUKEE - There was excitement in Milwaukee's Deer District Thursday night, July 7, but this time, it wasn't about basketball. Thursday marked the start of the second year of the Deer District Market, and it will continue every Thursday through Aug. 25.

There's something nostalgic about cotton candy on a stick.

"I used to be really obsessed with, you know, the purple cotton candy or the blue or pink cotton candy that you would see at the fair," said Gabi Joseph, Cotton Mouth MKE partner.

Joseph and her family turned that nostalgia into a business but with a different take.

"We use organic sugars," said Joseph. "We use organic flavoring, and the cool thing about it is, you can kind of mix and match with different flavors that we want."

Cotton Mouth MKE is one of the businesses taking over the Deer District on Thursday nights through late August during the second year for the market. 

The Bucks organization said the idea is to highlight great local food made by diverse people.

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"It definitely gets our name out there," said Joseph. "It’s kind of hard when you’re just a small business just to get your information out and get people to see you. It’s really, really nice that they’re doing this for small businesses like us."

Lynette Hopwood, visiting Milwaukee, stumbled upon the market on her way to see Fiserv Forum, where the Bucks won a championship.

"I’m glad to just have bumped into it today," said Hopwood. "What a great coincidence. This is a nice addition to the city, for sure."

Joseph said she hopes her business will feed off some of that energy.

"It’s pretty exciting," said Joseph. "It’s pretty awesome. I mean, it’s our team. We love the Bucks."

The market will run every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. through Aug. 25. Vendors can sign up for future market dates.