The Triple Taproom – which served beers from Hacienda, Door County Brewing and 3 Sheeps – at 2018 E. North Ave. has closed.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the time we’ve had in Milwaukee,” a social media post reads, “it’s been an amazing journey filled with great food, cold pints and even better company. Regretfully, we announce that the Triple Taproom is closing.”
The taproom opened as Hacienda Beer Co. on the northeast corner of Farwell and North Avenues in 2019. Hacienda is owned by Door County Brewing Co., based in Bailey’s Harbor. Sheboygan’s 3 Sheeps began operating part of the space in the summer of 2024.
“This decision affects only the Triple Taproom in Milwaukee,” the post continued. “Hacienda Beer Co., Door County Brewing Co. and 3 Sheeps Brewing will continue to operate as usual from our other taprooms and locations throughout Wisconsin.”
Comments on social media suggest that employees of the taproom, which also had a kitchen component, were not told about the closing on Monday, “until final hour.”
While the Triple Taproom post did not make it clear who made the decision, in another post on social media, from 3 Sheeps founder Grant Pauly implied it was not him.
“When we joined the space at the Triple Taproom, we were excited to have a physical presence in Milwaukee – pouring beer alongside our longtime friends at Door County Brewing and Hacienda Beer Co. Today, we’re saddened to share that they’ve made the difficult decision to close the doors.
“We want to be clear: this is not a reflection of the state of 3 Sheeps Brewing. Milwaukee has always been an important part of our story, and that’s not changing. From WMSE 91.7FM and Milwaukee Uncut to our presence at Fiserv Forum and the many bars and restaurants we’re proud to call partners and friends, we’ll continue to show up in the places that make this city so special. You’ll still find 3 Sheeps on tap and to-go at more than 500 locations throughout the Milwaukee area—and as always, you’re enthusiastically invited to come visit us in Sheboygan.
“We’ve long known there was something special about Milwaukee, and sharing a physical space here over the past year gave us the chance to experience that firsthand. The Triple Taproom was a short but meaningful chapter in our journey, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who stopped in and shared a pint with us there.
“We’re sorry to see this chapter close for our friends, and we remain as motivated as ever to keep moving forward with the same energy, focus, and appreciation for Milwaukee—and for Wisconsin as a whole – that brought us here in the first place.”
Neither Hacienda nor Door County Brewing replied to messages seeking more information.
Pauly says that 3 Sheeps will take a wait and see approach to opening a taproom of its own.
"We're pretty bummed today," Pauly tells OnMilwaukee. "I don't know what the future holds but we will continue to support Milwaukee any possible way we can. We're still trying to figure things out, with all the closures this year it's pretty crazy. We're just going to wait and see and figure things out.
"We'll see what our customers want and I would never say never, because Milwaukee is an awesome town that I've really enjoyed getting to be a part of for the last year."
Before Hacienda took over the space, it had been home to G. Daddy’s BBC, Bradford Beach Club, Kiko’s and other businesses. You can read a history of the building in this Urban Spelunking story.
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. A fifth collects Urban Spelunking articles about breweries and maltsters.
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 been heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
