Cool City Brewing Company, which will serve beer, food and coffee, is expected to open soon at 1718 W. Park St. in Two Rivers.
The business is owned by two couples – Curt and Jean Andrews and Barry and Gina Krahn – who bought the former Wells Fargo bank building and set about renovating it.
“It’s been a huge undertaking, but the building itself, specifically the location, was what really enticed us,” Curt Andrews said in a press release issued by Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), which has announced a $250,000 to help transform the building.
“Two Rivers has a heritage of beer manufacturing, and we’re bringing that entrepreneurial spirit back. We’re really excited about what it’s going to do for the community.”
When it opens, Cool City plans to offer 20 beers on tap, as well as seltzers and ciders. In addition to a full bar, it will offer lunch and dinner menus.
A drive-thru will serve coffee and handle pick-up of online food orders.
There will be seating indoors for 140 customers, with another 80 on a patio outside.
Cool City Brewing Company says it will brew on the state’s first self-cleaning Smart Brewing System, which it says will speed production, cut waste and boost efficiency without a dip in quality.
It expects its 10-barrel system and six fermenters to produce about 1,750 barrels of beer annually.
“Hopefully by partnering with some other local businesses, whether it’s the local cheesecake manufacturer or the local bakery, we can help their businesses grow as well,” said Andrews, a former city councilman.
“This will bring some economic inspiration to downtown, and maybe it will help fill spots downtown with people who want to open up businesses.”
The city is currently making over a park that is adjacent to the brewery.
“We definitely see this as a catalytic investment within our community,” said Two Rivers’ City Planner and Community Development Director, Elizabeth Runge, “one which could have that domino effect for others to make similar investments.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
