A four-story brick building in Walker's Point, built in 1894 and now home to Vendetta Coffee Bar, is on the market for $2.5 million. The property at 524 S. 2nd St. was bought by longtime owner Dieter Wegner in 1996 and today houses Vendetta Coffee Bar on its ground floor.
According to Urban Milwaukee, the fully leased building offers steady rental income on what the outlet describes as a prime southside street. Wegner put the property on the market. As reported by The Business Journal, Wegner bought the former machine shop in 1996. The building is now a mixed-use property.
A Carriage Factory's Long Second Life
The building dates to 1894.
The building was formerly used as a machine shop and now houses Vendetta Coffee Bar on its ground floor.
Vendetta's Winding Path to Walker's Point
Before Vendetta arrived, the ground floor had a complicated run of restaurant and event tenants. The former MOVIDA space at 524 S. 2nd St. was, per OnMilwaukee, most recently used as an events venue by the Stand Eat Drink Hospitality group before Vendetta Coffee Bar announced plans to take over the roughly 2,500-square-foot space. OnMilwaukee's reporting at the time noted the coffee bar intended to open up a lofted area in the space to handle overflow seating and host private events.
The planned buildout, according to a separate report from BizTimes, called for serving authentic Italian espresso drinks, drip coffee and Rishi Tea alongside pastries and panini. BizTimes also reported that the business had applied for a liquor license with plans to roll out an Italian cocktail menu on weekend evenings, expanding well beyond a standard coffee shop. The plans extended beyond coffee, with an Italian cocktail menu for weekend evenings.
Fully Leased, With Upstairs Neighbors
Vendetta is not the building's only tenant. Glassnote Candle Bar occupies the second floor, while apartments round out the upper levels.
The building sits on a 6,851-square-foot lot on the east side of S. 2nd Street and totals 14,828 square feet of floor area across its four stories.
A Second Wegner Property Also on the Market
A building at 726-734 S. 6th St. is listed for $775,000.
Walker's Point has seen a range of commercial sale prices in recent years, a reflection of the neighborhood's continued redevelopment pressure. A 123-year-old apartment building known as Mercantile Lofts sold for $6.7 million on April 18, 2023, according to BizTimes, while a renovated office building and adjacent development site at 228 S. First St. reportedly sold for $3 million in June, per a separate Business Journal report. Whether the 524 S. 2nd St. building finds a buyer at its asking price, or stays in Wegner's hands as it has for three decades, remains to be seen.
