Batches, a bakery in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, will close its storefront cafe as it shifts focus to wholesale and special orders.
Friday will be the bakery’s final day of operations at 401 E. Erie St. before it relocates to a much larger kitchen space in the lower level of the historic Landmark Building at 316 N. Milwaukee St. It will share that kitchen with French eatery Fauntleroy.
Batches first opened in February 2018 as is a sister concept to DanDan, Fauntleroy and EsterEv, which are all owned by local chefs and restaurateurs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite.
The move comes as the business takes on more catering and wholesale orders than its current space can accommodate. The space below Fauntleroy is triple the size of Batches’ current kitchen, so it will allow the bakery to expand its current offerings, Jacobs said.
“We came to the conclusion that it was best to focus our energy on what was working for us for that brand,” Jacobs said. “We were paying rent at that space already and rather than trying to operate Batches out of two places, we decided to leave the retail behind.”
Additionally, Batches heads the dessert programs for its three sister restaurants as well as The Iron Horse Hotel in Walker’s Point. Jacobs and Van Rite recently took over culinary operations there.
Batches will continue to sell muffins, cookies, and scones at Anodyne Coffee shops throughout the area, pie at The Tandem in Milwaukee’s Lindsay Heights neighborhood and other dessert items at Celesta on the East Side. The bakery will also be a vendor at Newaukee’s Night Market this summer.
After Batches’ storefront closes, Jacobs said, customers can still contact the business via phone or website. And the brand plans to stay active on Facebook and Instagram.
“We’re not going away, we’re just changing,” he said.
