The owners of the ever-growing Third Space Brewing, 1505 W. St. Paul Ave. in the Menomonee Valley, have long known that they would need more space.
Now, they're getting a second space, this one located at the corner of Appleton Avenue and Good Hope Road.
Owners Kevin Wright and Andy Gehl hope to open the new location – called Third Space Innovation Brewhouse and situated in a mixed-use development that also includes apartments and retail – by June.
The roughly 5,000-square-foot space new facility will include a 112-seat indoor taproom, a large covered outdoor patio and other outdoor areas with firepits.
There will also be a kitchen, and a 10-barrel brewhouse.
The space, designed by Three Sixty, will occupy a new structure designed by JLA Architects. Construction is already underway.
Third Space's new brewhouse and taproom will be the first craft brewer in Menomonee Falls.
“Our current tap room has become well-known as the place to be for big events like Wisconsin IPA Fest and Ice Bear Fest, and we have cultivated a great group of regulars who have made our tap room their own 'third space'," says Gehl. "However, we have always been more of a 'destination brewery' at our main location.
"Opening a second location in the heart of where so many people live and work offers a great opportunity for a much larger group of people to connect with the Third Space Brewing brand while continuing to be the go to spot at the Milwaukee taproom for private parties, creative events, or a fresh Happy Place directly from the source."
The taproom and kitchen are expected to open first. Later, the brewhouse, focused on innovation beers, will follow.
Wright promises, "a slate of new beers and styles that (customers) haven’t seen from Third Space in the past.
"We deliberately chose specialized equipment that expands our processing capabilities, allowing us to delve into more innovative beer styles than our current equipment and facility allow,” says Wright.
“As a 5-year Menomonee Falls resident, I'm thrilled to contribute to the community by introducing a new 'third space' into our shared experience."
The site was long home to the popular Trysting Place Pub, which closed in 2020. The building the pub occupied for 35 years was demolished soon after.
"We are really proud of the state-wide brand we have created, helping people find their Happy Place throughout Wisconsin," Gehl says, "while creating a warm and welcoming 'third space' for people at our main brewery in Milwaukee's Menomonee River Valley."
Gehl and Wright opened Third Space in September 2016 in a former Geuder, Paeschke & Frey metal and enameling company building in the Valley.
By spring of 2019, the brewery had expanded three times, adding capacity to meet demand. It added more capacity two years later with a pair of 90-barrel fermentation tanks that boosted Third Space’s capacity to 18,000 barrels per year.
Over the years it also expanded and upgraded its large outdoor patio.
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.
