After going dark at the end of 2025, Wantable Café at 123 E. Walker Street is set to flip the lights back on later this spring, this time under a new operator and a new name. The space will relaunch as 41Fork Exchange, run by local hospitality group 41Fork Hospitality, and will keep its coworking vibe while expanding its breakfast, lunch and grab-and-go offerings. The reboot coincides with Wantable’s ongoing expansion of its Walker's Point headquarters.
According to OnMilwaukee, 41Fork will run the new 41Fork Exchange @ Wantable Café inside Wantable’s headquarters and is planning weekday breakfast and lunch service. The concept is slated to feature rotating menus, grab-and-go items and Vennture coffee, plus Roman-style focaccia pizza sold by weight. “This partnership represents exactly what excites us about hospitality right now,” 41Fork founder Kaelyn Cervero said in a statement.
The relaunch was first reported by BizTimes, which notes that the Wantable Café space will remain a coworking hub even as the food program is overhauled. BizTimes also reported that Wantable closed the café at the end of 2025 while redeploying resources as it expands into the neighboring Schulte Poultry building at 916-918 S. First St.
What 41Fork Exchange Will Serve
The menu will lean into flexible, chef-driven dishes with a rotating lineup and a strong grab-and-go selection, according to OnMilwaukee. Headliners include Roman-style focaccia pizza sold by weight, with toppings such as burrata and tomato, ricotta with lemon and arugula, roast chicken with hot honey, and soppressata with Calabrian chili. The café will also pour Vennture Brew coffee and stock a range of packaged items aimed at commuters and remote workers who want to grab something quick without sacrificing quality.
From Coworking To Community Hub
41Fork Hospitality describes the Exchange as a flexible culinary and creative platform that will function as both a neighborhood café and a testing ground for pop-ups, a retail market and a rotating food truck. The company, known for Noble Catering & Events and Neat Beverage Catering, says the project is intended to blend quality food with a welcoming workspace. As the concept develops, 41Fork plans to roll out additional programming and activations.
The current relaunch follows a stretch of turnover at the location. Experience Milwaukee took over operations in spring 2025, and the café later closed to the public at the end of 2025, according to reporting from Urban Milwaukee. At the time, Experience Milwaukee had signaled plans to refine programming and test new spaces while Wantable shifted resources into nearby expansion projects.
Why It Matters
The return of foodservice at Wantable’s headquarters puts another daytime dining option back on the map in Walker's Point and offers a test bed for local cooks and vendors. 41Fork Hospitality says the Exchange model is designed to lower the barrier for short-run collaborations and market opportunities for Wisconsin makers, while keeping Wantable’s coworking amenities in place for employees. For neighbors, the relaunch promises more consistent breakfast and lunch choices, plus occasional pop-up activations tied to the broader Innovation District growth in the area.
