First we gave you our favorite Milwaukee music of the year. Then came our favorite Milwaukee music videos and favorite Milwaukee Record stories of the year. Now comes a year-end article that’s on the somber side of things.
Though we hate to dwell on sad and negative news, we feel its important to give a little attention to some of the Milwaukee restaurants, bars, and breweries we lost in 2025. This list is far from complete, but we feel it at least gives a glimpse at the rampant changeover in local dining, drinking, and brewing. Here are a few closings we’ve covered in 2025.
• 1840 Brewing Company
• AJ Bombers
• Asian Buffet/Hong Kong Seafood Buffet
• City Lights Brewing
• Enlightened Brewing Company
• Fuel Cafe on 5th Street
• L’Incontro/Izzy Hops
• The National Cafe
• Pomona Cider Co.
• Promises
• Ouzo Cafe
• SAGE
• Stack’d Burger Bar
• This Is It
• Triple Taproom & Kitchen
• Twisted Plants (Cudahy location)
Again, this is but a small sampling of the losses metro Milwaukee has incurred over the last 11.5 months. Sadly, the wave of closures seems to be just a sign of the dining- and drinking-related decimation to come. Last week, Beans & Barley announced it will be closing at the end of January. Since then, East Side vegan restaurant Strange Town took to social media to announce its urgent need for support to prevent them from shutting down before year’s end, and similar statements were issued by Seven Swans Crêperie and Mekong Cafe.
Despite living in a state that’s currently sitting on billions of dollars in funding (and will continue to do so on account of political pettiness) and a nation whose leadership is prone to anointing itself No. 1 while so many in its borders fight to make ends meet, it once again falls on consumers to dig deep to save struggling establishments. Many folks have dug so deep, so often that they’ve breached the basement floor of their budgets and they, too, now need help. It’s unfortunate that citizens are exceedingly relied upon to be solely responsible to prop up local businesses, to preserve area institutions, and to be the only thing standing between a historic and beloved local haunt becoming a fucking Panera Bread because some soulless developer can squeeze a few extra dollars out of a corporate tenant.
It’s unacceptable to be tasked with continually staving off the erasure of Milwaukee’s identity, culture, and so-called “third spaces” in favor of another gray, box-y chain devoid of personality that would inevitably spawn in its place. Yet it’s sadly and realistically necessary. The government won’t help. Our “leaders” won’t step in (at least in any positive way). Thus it falls on us to do what we can to support what we can before it’s too late.
You know how to help and to what extent you’re personally able to, so we’ll spare you the guide. All we’ll say is do what you can while you still can because it looks like things are only going to become much worse and far more difficult for local businesses and, as a direct result, Milwaukee is bound to lose many of the places, people, and things that help make our city so unique, special, and enjoyable.
While things are especially dire here at the end of 2025, it’s not all doom and gloom. Amid the unprecedented string of closures, an array of great new restaurants and bars have opened. And more places are on the way in 2026, including eagerly anticipated fine dining spots like Cassis, a hopeful harbinger of North Avenue’s turnaround in Nadi Plates, and even a new Solemn Oath brewery/taproom in Bay View to fight against the trend of craft beer decline.
As we mourn the places we lost, we ask that you also think about the places you love and would hate to lose, get out and try new (or new to you) places, look locally any and every time you’re able to, and be aware that your disposable income—no matter how significant or small that figure might be—could very well be the difference in many Milwaukee area establishments making it through 2026 in one piece.
