Beans & Barley to close permanently after 52 years on Milwaukee's east side

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- After 52 years, an east side staple will shut its doors in January.

On Wednesday, Beans & Barley restaurant, deli and shop announced plans to close permanently, effective Jan. 31, 2026. 

In a goodbye statement posted to Facebook, the store's owners said the building is being sold and they can't afford to purchase it.

"Really, this ending has so many of those memories coming up," said co-owner Jim Neumeyer, who noted he started working there when he was just 19. "I really felt like when I got here, that I belonged."

Neumeyer noted the shutdown impacts generations -- those who have been there before and those who would've come.

"This place is made up of all of the people who have come through it. Our recipes are from people who worked here, their grandmas, their friends," Neumeyer said. "Everything I learned about cooking, and being on a team, and collaborating and being a community member came from working here."

However, the Milwaukee staple hasn't been without challenges -- from rebuilding after a fire in 1993 to a Hepatitis A incident involving an employee last fall, to a brief shutdown in May after failing the city's health inspection.

Neumeyer said thanks to his staff and loyal customers, they've been able to keep moving forward.

"Unbelievably sad, but I can't express how much gratitude I have for getting to have done this and getting to be a steward of this place," Neumeyer said. 

Now he's hoping other employers in the hospitality business hire someone from the staff, and that customers will come and enjoy the space one last time and say goodbye in the coming weeks. 

"We also want to implore you to, should you have the means please, please, frequent and support your local small business," Beans & Barley wrote. "They will not make it without you, they make up your community, they are what makes this city incredible and they need you."