Branch + Daughter, the specialty market and pizza kitchen that put Windsor, Wisconsin on the food map, has closed amid its owners' divorce, though its signature pies are getting a second life about 10 miles away in Middleton. The business, run by Judson and Monique Branch, had offered gourmet groceries, prepared meals and pizza out of a small building on Traveler Trail since it opened in July 2021.
The closure was confirmed by the Wisconsin State Journal, which reported that the Windsor business shut down amid the Branches' divorce. Judson Branch told the paper that the split, and local customers' awareness of it, made some people uncomfortable, and he also pointed to nearby roadwork and rising meat prices as additional challenges for the small-town butcher shop. Before that, Branch + Daughter had already posted on Facebook that it was seeking a new owner for the pizza restaurant and market, telling followers the business was under temporary hour reduction while working through operational changes, according to hngnews.com.
A Farm-To-Table Concept Built From Scratch
Judson and Monique Branch renovated the small building on Traveler Trail, formerly home to Papino's neighborhood pizza and Italian restaurant, before opening their market with its meat counter and pizza kitchen in 2021, per hngnews.com's report. Monique Branch brought hospitality experience to the venture and met Judson while they were both working for Marriott, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. She declined to be more specific about her next job, the paper reported.
At its butcher counter and deli case, the shop sold meats from nearby Wisconsin farmers, as The Capital Times noted when it profiled the new market. Its menu went well beyond pizza toppings, with specialty pies featuring ingredients like marinated figs, blended meatballs and garlic butter clams, the same report found.
The Salted Pig And 4 Points Find a New Home
Branch + Daughter earned a loyal following for two standout pizzas: the Salted Pig, loaded with local bacon, marinated figs, port-wine-candied onions, arugula, mozzarella, pecorino Romano and pistachio pesto, and the 4 Points. An earlier madison.com feature on the business described the Salted Pig and its toppings.
Those pizzas are not disappearing. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Branch + Daughter's pizzas will have a new home at Prohibition Brew Pub, the new restaurant and bar taking over the former Club Tavern building in Middleton. A separate madison.com report described Prohibition as honoring the history of the 1863 building it occupies.
Exactly when the Windsor location's final day came, when Prohibition Brew Pub will open, or who might ultimately take over the Branch + Daughter market and name remain open questions. What is clear is that the sweet-and-savory pies that made the Windsor storefront a destination are set to reappear in Middleton.
