On the heels of opening their innovative new cafe at Radio Milwaukee, the team at Discourse Coffee Workshop is already making its next bold move.

Beginning as soon as mid-May, they will be debuting a new pastry concept in the beautifully appointed tavern at the Dubbel Dutch Hotel, 817 N. Marshall St.

“We’re working hard on a bakery concept that really celebrates the ideation and innovation of our pastry team,” says Discourse Founder Ryan Castelaz.

“While our other cafes focus heavily on coffee… and we offer pastry to complement it, this concept will be just the opposite. We’ll be focusing on the pastry and creating a destination for Milwaukee’s pastry-curious.”

But that’s not all.

After the pastry concept is up and running, Castelaz says they will also be relocating Agency – their hybrid bar concept – to the Dubbel Dutch as well, creating a dual-concept venue that offers pastry in the morning and a hybrid cocktail bar in the evening. 

As for pending changes to the former tavern, Castelaz says they will be minimal. 

“The space is really perfect,” he says, noting that they expect to augment the atmosphere with new lighting, maybe a bit of new furniture and artwork that fits the Agency vibe. In fact, if all goes well, Agency will make the transition to the hotel in late summer.

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“They’re amazing people,” says Kelly Festo, general manager at the Dubbel Dutch. “They bring a really special energy to everything that they do and I can’t think of anyone better to join us at the hotel. The atmosphere here is very much historic-meets-modern, and it’s full of stories. Ryan and his team are perfect because they are some of the best storytellers I know. They just tell their stories through food and drink.”

Festo says she moved to Milwaukee in 2018 explicitly so that she could play a role in the unique innovative hospitality culture that existed in the city. After working as director of operations for the Mojofuco Restaurant Group, she moved on to work as Director of Operations at New Land Enterprises. It was at Crossroads Collective that she met Castelaz and his team for the first time. And they left her feeling inspired.

“It was such a pleasure to work with them when they were at Crossroads,” she says. “And now, we’re so excited to host a team that’s doing something in the scene that hasn’t been done before. It will be great to give our guests a tiny taste of the creativity that makes Milwaukee so special.”