build-outs of summer pilcrow coffee milwaukee wisconsin cafe nitro cold brew sprudge

Here we are, together at last, sharing with you the final cafe featured in our 2016 Build-Outs of Summer series. It’s been a whirlwind tour around the country together over the last few months, sharing the thrill of the build and checking out new coffee stuff happening hither, dither and yon. No build was too small, no project too ambitiousโ€”we’ve had a wonderful time sharing these build-outs with you, and expect a fun by-the-numbers post-mortem look back at the series coming soon.

But for now, a final build. Milwaukee is an imperfect city full of some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and home to a coffee scene that’s light-years ahead of most cities its size. Add to that roster the all-new Pilcrow Coffee, a ย roaster-retailer with big plans for a combined storefront & industrial warehouse space. They’re stocking it with state-of-the-art gear and will even be operating a fleet of cold brew tricyclesโ€”once the weather’s nice, we’re assuming.

From Milwaukee to your screen, and from all of us at Sprudge, thanks for being a part of this year’s Build-Outs of Summer series, and let’s take a look at one more together. This is Pilcrow Coffee of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

As told to Sprudge by Ryan Hoban of Pilcrow Coffee.

build-outs of summer pilcrow coffee milwaukee wisconsin cafe nitro cold brew sprudge

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

advert but first coffee cookbook now available

 

Pilcrow Coffee is a new coffee roaster in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our focus will be to establish direct-trade relationship coffees and we also want to have a nitro cold-coffee bike arm of our business.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

We currently are building out a 700-square-foot storefront space that will be utilized as a training bar for wholesale clients along with being open to the public in a very limited capacity. We also just secured a grant from the city of Milwaukee to build-out our roasting operations behind our retail storefront in a 1800-square-foot industrial warehouse. The plan is to connect the two spaces once the rear is completed.

build-outs of summer pilcrow coffee milwaukee wisconsin cafe nitro cold brew sprudge

What’s your approach to coffee?

We like single-origin, well-developed, transparent, relationship coffee. Our approach is to do our best not toย screw up all the hard work put in by farmers and producers, but to roast and serve their coffees carefully and thoughtfully.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

We purchased a single-group Slayer from a former wholesale client of the owner while he worked at another roaster in Chicago. We have twoย 20-gallon cold coffee brewing kettles from Spike Brewing here in Milwaukee. We have two white Mahlkรถnig EK 43 grinders for filtered coffee and a Mahlkรถnig Peak for espresso duties. We also have a FETCOย batch brewer and a BUNNย hot water tower. Oh, and we will have two nitro trikes cruising the Brew Cityย streets in those rare moments when it is warm enough to ride. We also have it planned to purchase a 12-kilogram Probat for our roasting operations.

build-outs of summer pilcrow coffee milwaukee wisconsin cafe nitro cold brew sprudge

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

Front of house is hopefully going to be up and running by October 1. The roasting space will hopefully be finished for us by January 1.

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

We have been working with Megan Jurvis to develop the branding guide and ensure we are staying true to what we want to be and communicate.

Pilcrow Coffee is located at 1739 North Doctor Martin Luther King Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Photos courtesy of Ryan Hoban.

New Rules of Coffee banner advertising an illustrated guide to the essential rules for enjoying coffee