The nearly $20 million restoration was only the first step.
With its windows replaced, roof repaired and its brick walls sealed, Garver Feed Mill's potential has been somewhat muted thanks to a course-altering pandemic that hit just a few months after the opening.
The business plan for the former East Side sugar factory building, however, has remained true and has filled the 60,000-square-foot space with a village of diverse entrepreneurs pining for the end of mask mandates and looking forward to growing revenues.
Ian's Pizza, with its display case of freshly baked pies, is the most visible, along with the Garver Lounge, a spacious bar adjacent to the 13,500-square-foot atrium that can host music, weddings and, on Saturdays in the winter, a farmer's market.
Shilpa Sankaran shows off one of the treatment rooms at Kosa, an Ayurvedic retreat and spa at Garver Feed Mill. Kosa is one of the many businesses that have helped fill Garver Feed Mill after it underwent a nearly $20 million renovation.
But Garver's other tenants include KOSA, a spa on the second level that combines steam baths and saunas with healthy eating, massages and meditation. Next door is Perennial Yoga and around the corner the corporate offices of Sitka Salmon Shares. Twig and Olive Photography is here along with Briar Loft, a floral design company; Ledger Coffee Roasters, Calliope Ice Cream and NessAlla Kombucha, which has a 15,000-square-foot production facility.
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The newest entries are Clouds North Films, a video production company specializing in micro-documentaries, and Glitter Workshop, where a core group of a dozen local artists sell their creations and classes are held in candle pouring, wood burning and making bath bombs.
A view of the Lounge and, in the distance, Ian's Pizza at Garver Feed Mill. The building was constructed in 1906 and is now home to a wide range of businesses.
In short, this once controversial and dilapidated building off South Fair Oaks Avenue is alive and well.
"I think we're just starting to hit our stride," said Bryant Moroder, a member of the development team for Braun Revision, which spearheaded the restoration and manages the spaces. "Its really been an economic catalyst for the small businesses and entrepreneurs, which is part of the intention."
Bethany Jurewiscz, director of public programming and business operations for Garver Events, shows off a special events area that includes work from local artists. Garver Events is charged with creating programming at Garver Feed Mill.
Garver Events, which is charged with catering, bringing music and other events to the building, noted for its large windows, high ceilings and exposed steel, is also based here and owns the lounge that was built when COVID-19 hit in March 2020.
On Wednesdays, for example, a large curtain is pushed back to connect the lounge with the atrium where live music is played. There are also art exhibits, plans for an outdoor bar on the patio in the summer and more special programming, all designed to bring more people to the building not only from the area but from throughout the region.
"We really see a pretty strong silver lining for us that came out of the pandemic in solidifying us as a place for the arts and community programming," said Bethany Jurewiscz, Garver Events' director of public programming and business operations. "I'm pleased that so many of (the businesses at Garver) have survived the last two years. I think without the pandemic there would have been fighting for these spaces. Instead we really worked to make sure everybody here survived."
The Garver Feed Mill, as it looked in 2015.
More than a century old
Completed in 1906, the building was used by United States Sugar Co. until 1924 before James Garver purchased the site in 1929 and established the Garver Feed and Supply Co. The mill closed in 1997 and was purchased by the Olbrich Botanical Society for $700,000 and donated to the city with the idea that it be used to expand the adjacent Olbrich gardens.
In 2001, the building was heavily damaged by fire. Former Mayor Dave Cieslewicz pushed for reuse of the site in 2003. And in 2009, voters endorsed a nonprofit's idea to turn it into an "arts incubator," but the developer pulled out two years later. In April 2015, the city sold the property to Baum for $1 and contributed $3.4 million to the project that received another $6.75 million in state and federal tax dollars.
Vintage photographs and signage help recount the past and are on display at Garver Feed Mill in Madison.
Today, only one business space remains for lease and Moroder is hoping it will be filled by another restaurant to replace a vegan café that had occupied the space.
Next door to that space is Naomi Richardson's Glitter Workshop that opened in Garver in December. She founded the business in 2006 and over the years had been in a variety of locations, the most recent at Hilldale when in October 2020 she took on a short-term lease after a candle store had closed. About 75% of her business comes from classes but the Garver space, with its events, local foods and vibe, has paid off with increased sales.
Naomi Richardson moved her Glitter Workshop to Garver Feed Mill from Hilldale in December. The business, which sells Richardson's work and that of other artists, also offers classes in things like candle pouring, wood burning and the making of bath bombs.
When Richardson experienced her first farmers market last month at Garver, her shop did more sales in one day that it had done in all of January 2021.
"I love this space so much. It has just such an organic feel to it," said Richardson, who discovered Garver when she came for dinner at Ian's. "It's so community-based."
That feeling is also what lured Bob Trondson in May to rent out a small space in the building where he edits video for his Clouds North Films, a business he founded about five years ago that specializes in nonprofit and social justice work.
Trondson, a former member of a punk band, had produced music videos in Chicago and was a screenwriter in Los Angeles but came to Madison where he produced a documentary for Wisconsin Public Television on Vel Phillips, the first Black woman to graduate from UW-Madison's Law School, win a seat on the Milwaukee City Council and become a judge in Wisconsin, and the first woman and Black person to be elected to statewide office.
Bob Trondson moved his Clouds North Films into Garver Feed Mill in May.
Trondson's office at Garver is bathed in natural light and provides an escape from his basement where he had been working. His new space is also inspirational and brings him in contact with potential collaborators.
"There's a connection here between the old and beautiful architecture combined with the new and really great design style," Trondson said. "It really fits with my brand. I love coming here."
Shilpa Sankaran and her husband, Greg Rasmussen, opened in November 2019 KOSA, a 4,500-square-foot spa that uses Ayurvedic practices, a traditional Hindu system of medicine, which is based on the idea of balance in bodily systems and uses diet, herbal treatment and yogic breathing.
The couple grew up in Middleton and both went to UW-Madison but moved to San Francisco where Sankaran worked in the dotcom world and started a prefab, zero energy construction company while Rasmussen worked in website and content development.
The sanctuary lounge at Kosa, an Ayurvedic retreat and spa, at Garver Feed Mill. The business opened in late 2019.
They had moved back to the Madison area to be closer to family and had thought of creating a spa in the country.
Then Sankaran discovered the Garver space when she was brought in as a consultant on a proposed micro-hotel for the property. That project never materialized, but Sankaran fell in love with the restored building and now has seven treatment rooms, two saunas, two steam baths, a lounge area to sip tea and contemplate, and a commercial kitchen that makes traditional stews and khichdi, a rice dish with locally sourced vegetables and lentils.
The business was open for four months, closed for nearly a year, reopened in February 2021 and endured a rash of cancellations last month when omicron hit. But during the shutdown, Sankaran pivoted to create her own line of lotions, shampoo, body washes and deodorants.
"We've been through a lot of bumpy times but overall we're going to come out of it stronger," said Sankaran. "There's nothing like (Garver) in Madison. You can just feel the energy of all of the lives that it's had and all of the integrity that was here."
Photos: See restored Garver Feed Mill through the years
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - Ian's Pizza
A painter puts finishing touches on signs Tuesday at Ian's Pizza's new location in the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side. Ian's expects to open this week in the renovated former mill, which will host a dozen local food and wellness businesses.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - NessAlla
Meg Lahti packages growlers of NessAlla Kombucha on Tuesday in the company's production space at the newly renovated Garver Feed Mill.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - front exterior
The newly renovated Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side will open this week as a local food and wellness hub.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - patio
Construction workers finish a patio Tuesday at the renovated Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side. The first phase of a $19.8 million project to reuse the former sugar factory and feed mill is almost complete.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - rear exterior
Workers finish landscaping at the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side Tuesday. Garver is set to reopen this week as a local food and wellness hub after more than 18 months of construction and more than two decades since the former mill closed.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - atrium
A 13,500-square-foot atrium will serve as an event center in the rebirth of the old Garver Feed Mill. Baum Revision is preparing to reopen the former sugar factory and feed mill this week after an 18-month, $15.5 million renovation.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - graffiti
Ian's Pizza hired artists from Momentum Arts Tech to paint the exposed duct work above its kitchen in the Garver Feed Mill. The project is an homage to the site's history as a destination for graffiti artists during the two decades when it sat vacant.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - front door
Ryan Ramig, left, and his kids, Ariana, 11, and Rocket, 10, with 1-year-old Oliver in the stroller, peer through a door to check out the newly renovated Garver Feed Mill.
Garver Feed Mill 2019
Ian's Pizza prepares to open their new location at the renovated Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side Wednesday. After 8 years with the local chain, general manager Adam Nagy (in red) was looking to open his own store in Milwaukee when he heard about plans for the local food and wellness hub.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - atrium
Ian's Pizza occupies one end of a 13,500-square-foot atrium in the renovated Garver Feed Mill, which will also serve as an event center run by Underground Kitchen's Jonny Hunter with room for more than 800 people.
Garver Feed Mill 2019
A painter finishes work Wednesday on a sign for Calliope Ice Cream, which is opening its first retail site within Ian's Pizza's new location in the renovated Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side.
Garver Feed Mill 2019 - mezzanine
A 280-foot mezzanine lines one side of the 13,500-square-foot atrium at Garver Feed Mill. The space will host an event center run by Jonny Hunter of Underground Kitchen.
Garver Feed Mill 2019
Co-owner Vanessa Tortolano, left, and Greg Eberwein, head brewer, change out a keg Tuesday at NessAlla Kombucha at the newly renovated Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side.
Garver Feed Mill 2019
Staci Fritz, co-owner of Calliope Ice Cream, makes jalapeño cornbread ice cream Tuesday in the kitchen space at the newly renovated Garver Feed Mill. Fritz is opening her first retail store in space shared with Ian's Pizza, where she also works.
Garver Feed Mill 2018
Renovation of the Garver Feed Mill on Madison’s East Side, October 6, 2018. Built in 1905, the Industrial Romanesque feed mill was named a city landmark in 1994 and is being converted into an artisan food-production facility by Baum Revision of Chicago. The project is due to be completed in 2019.
Garver Feed Mill 2018
Back side of the Garver Feed Mill on Madison’s East Side, October 6, 2018. Built in 1905, the Industrial Romanesque feed mill was named a city landmark in 1994 and is being converted into an artisan food-production facility by Baum Revision of Chicago. The project is due to be completed in 2019.
Garver Feed Mill 2017
High Point Masonry workers Quentin Jelle and Peter Atkinson, behind, apply mortar to brickwork as restoration of the historic Garver Feed Mill begins in earnest in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017. The $19.8 million project will remodel the crumbling landmark and its surrounding five acres into an artisan food production facility with dozens of short-term rental units.
Garver Feed Mill 2015
Noah Bachmann of Bachmann Construction inspects a deteriorated window on the city-owned Garver Feed Mill in Madison, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 as workers continue a two-day effort to protect damaged portions of the historic structure from impending winter weather. In April, the Madison city council voted to accept a proposal from Baum Development in Chicago to redevelop Garver and its surrounding five acres into an artisan food production facility, with restoration efforts expected to begin in 2016. JOHN HART -- State Journal
Garver Feed Mill 2015
Workers with Bachmann Construction employ a lift truck to place plastic tarps over weathered roof portions of the city-owned Garver Feed Mill in Madison, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. The project is part of a two-day effort to protect damaged portions of the historic structure from impending winter weather. In April, the Madison city council voted to accept a proposal from Baum Development in Chicago to redevelop Garver and its surrounding five acres into an artisan food production facility, with restoration efforts expected to begin in 2016.
Garver Feed Mill 2015
Inside the Garver Feed Mill in 2015 before Baum Revision began work on a $19.8 million renovation.
Garver Feed Mill 2015
The main warehouse space of the Garver Feed Mill as pictured in 2015.
Garver Feed Mill 2014
The Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side, photographed March 7, 2014. “Time has taken its toll both in terms of masonry integrity and structural stability," stated a 2013 city report on the vacant building.
Garver Feed Mill 2010
A file photo from June 10, 2010, shows deterioration of the Garver Feed Mill, which sat vacant for two decades before renovation began in December 2017.
Garver Feed Mill 2007
A photo from Jan. 22, 2007, shows the interior of the Garver Feed Mill during the two decades when it was owned by the city of Madison. The vacant building fell into disrepair as the city sought new uses.
Garver Feed Mill 2007
Chris Harper of the Olbrich Botanical Society views a hole in the roof of the Garver Feed Mill where equipment was ripped out after the mill closed in 1997 in a file photo from Jan. 22, 2007.
Garver Feed Mill 2001 - graffti
A file photo from May 2001 shows graffiti splashed across the vacant Garver Feed Mill behind Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Madison's East Side. The building, constructed in 1906, sat vacant from 1997 until 2017 while the city tried to figure out a new use.
Garver Feed Mill 2001 fire
A fire on May 5, 2001, caused an estimated $200,000 in damage to the Garver Feed Mill on Madison's East Side. Four children started the blaze while playing in the vacant factory building.
Garver Feed Mill 1996
Garver Feed Mill, pictured in 1996, a year before the East Side mill closed. The site sat vacant for two decades before Baum Revision purchased it in December 2017 as part of a $19.8 million project to create a food and wellness hub. Photo courtesy of State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society.
Garver Feed Mill 1990
Garver Feed Mill in 1990. The mill closed in 1997 after 66 years in business and sat vacant for two decades as the city of Madison tried to figure out what to do with it. Photo courtesy of State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society.
Garver Feed Mill 1983
Garver Feed Mill in 1983. Photo courtesy of State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society.
Garver Feed Mill - 1924
Two women are pictured outside the U.S. Sugar Co.'s beet processing plant in 1924, the same year the company went bankrupt. The plant, completed in 1906, was Madison's largest factory at the time and had 250 people working around the clock making 50 tons of sugar per day. James Garver purchased the factory in 1929, removed the top two stories and converted it into a feed mill that operated until 1997.
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