Water Street silversmith shop sale is final. It will be remodeled into a tavern.
The last ground-floor business in downtown Milwaukee's Water Street nightlife area that's not a tavern or restaurant has closed and its building has been sold − to become a tavern.
The historic building that housed A. Werner Silversmiths Inc., 1241 N. Water St., is to become the home of Water Street University, a tavern operated by Steggeman Investments LLC.
Steggeman Investments, owned by Mike Steggeman, completed its purchase of the two-story, 3,520-square-foot building and its parking lot on Wednesday, according to Barry Co. commercial real estate services firm.
The property sold for $625,000, according to state real estate records posted online Friday. The transaction was brokered by Nick Zurich, of the Barry Co., and Diane Drummy, of Prestige Realty.
Plans for Water Street University, with capacity for up to 99 people, include an outdoor patio bar in the back of the building and a second-floor deck overlooking it.
Steggeman said Wednesday he hopes to open Water Street University this summer.
A. Werner had operated in the building since 1956. The building is a former diner that was built in 1895, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The silversmith business had been operated by members of the Wied family since the 1950s. Mike Wied in 2021 put the building on the sale block after deciding to retire.
A. Werner was an outlier on a two-block stretch of Water Street between Highland Avenue and Knapp Street.
Since the late 1980s, around the time the Bradley Center opened to host Milwaukee Bucks games and other events, the area evolved from a mix of businesses to the Water Street nightlife area. That arena has since been demolished and replaced by Fiserv Forum, which opened in 2018.
The Water Street strip's businesses include Duke's on Water, AJ Bombers, Red Rock Saloon, Brothers Bar and Grill, Bar None, McGillycuddy's, Pourman's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Elwood's Liquor and Tap, Lowcountry Milwaukee and The Brewery.
A. Werner was founded in 1888 by Austrian immigrant Adolf Werner. His son, Leo, started operating the business in 1940, with the Wied family buying it in 1954.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Historic Milwaukee silversmith shop to become tavern with sale done
