Juneau Avenue Building Turned into Distillery
After the 'More Roads' strategic plan came the Rewire. That led to the Hardwire and now we are into another phase - the UNWIND.
Notoriously, the iconic Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee Harley headquarters has stood largely empty ever since the Pandemic, certainly in terms of those who were supposed to be steering the ship, and now it is being sold off - to a distillery. Harley never managed to organize a 'you know what' in a brewery, so now they've outsourced the task to 'Central Standard' who is to relocate its distillery operations into part of the historic industrial era vibe of Harley's 'Red Brick' architectural statement.
The early 20th century ambiance of the Juneau Avenue building would, among other things, have served the museum well (for example), especially given that it is adjacent to the newly created, $20m, Heatherwick Studio designed 4-acre Davidson Park - including its Potawatomi Serenity Garden - just in case the noise from all those pesky motorcycles and 'Rock And Roll Music' becomes overpowering.
Central Standard's purchase of the refurbished 73,000-square-foot space will offer full distillery production, a tasting room, distillery tours, private events and new job opportunities."
Yes, Harley has sold the portion of the building that Standard will use. There's no way back now - what other family silver and Heritage is to be sold to the highest bidder? Harley-Davidson will continue to operate on the site "as they have done for more than 120 years." A formal groundbreaking is slated for late summer 2025, with the aim to open the new distillery to the public in late spring 2026.
