Brewery/coffee shop Vennture Brew Co. to open second location in Brookfield this weekend

Milwaukee coffee shop and brewery Vennture Brew Co. is opening its Brookfield location on Saturday, March 16.

The brewery-coffee shop hybrid is opening its new space at 2970 N. Brookfield Road in time for St. Patrick’s Day with limited hours, it announced on social media Friday. It comes almost six years after the business opened its original location on North Avenue — and with significantly more space for customers.

“It’s nerve wracking, it’s exciting,” said Rob Gustafson, a co-owner of the business. “As beer and coffee have become more hyperlocal … we like to meet people where they are, instead of making them make the long journey to us.”

The new Brookfield space is about 1,500 square feet and will seat about 80 people inside, compared to about 50 on North Avenue, he said. Its outdoor patio is about twice as large as their original location and there’s also about double the brewing capacity at the new space.

Vennture Brew Co. originally opened at 5519 W. North Ave. in July 2018. Gustafson said they began conversations about purchasing their new location with its owners, the former Biloba Brewing, about two years ago.

“It’s something that became evident the first year or so that we would probably have to (expand,)” Gustafson said.

Upon opening, the coffee side of the business will lag a bit behind as espresso equipment is still on order, he said. Instead, they’ll sell pre-packaged coffee from their other location and incorporate drip coffee and cold brew coffee in the coming weeks.

For its initial opening this weekend, Vennture Brew Co. will be open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. It will have those same hours and days next week. Once it's open fully, they will operate seven days a week, Gustafson said.

They’re still evaluating what the business's official hours will be, he said. The owners want to monitor traffic at the location to determine opening hours, but it would likely be between 6 and 7 a.m. and closing around 9 p.m. on the weekdays and 10 p.m. from Thursday and into the weekends.

So, will Vennture Brew Co. stop at two locations or might there be more in the future?

“Oh, man, we haven’t even opened this one here," Gustafson said. "I guess that’s to be determined and see how this goes and where that positions us, but it’s never a no.”