North Avenue Market Melds Food Entrepreneurs and Community

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North Avenue Market (5900 W. North Ave.) celebrated its one-year anniversary in September. While there’s a slightly different cast of food vendors from when the market first opened, along with tweaks to the space, owner Chris Harris Morse emphasizes that the venue is more than a food hall. “It’s a modern-day community center,” he says proudly.

Harris Morse, a U.S. Air Force veteran, has lived throughout the country, from his home state of North Carolina to Missouri, Oregon, Colorado, California, Pennsylvania and Michigan. When he moved to Wisconsin, his husband’s home state, he found Milwaukee to be welcoming. “Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve always asked ‘how do I add value to the communities where I live?’” he reflects.

He had initially intended to open a coffee shop—he notes that he doesn’t drink coffee— but “it was more about the community space.” He eventually learned that an Associated Brank branch in his Uptown Crossing/Washington Heights neighborhood was closing. The building, which eventually became North Avenue Market, had more space than that Harris Morse had been seeking for a coffee shop.

“That got me thinking about the food halls I’d visited: Milwaukee Public Market, Crossroads Collective and Sherman Phoenix. I thought about the needs of community. I ended up taking this and turned it into what I call neighborhood hub,” he says.

Food and More

Current vendors include 4 Corners Café, a minority-owned business featuring panini sandwiches, salads, and meat, cheese or hummus charcuterie boards, house-made bakery and coffee/coffee drinks made with local Pilcrow Coffee. Harris Morse says Pilcrow crafted a special blend for North Avenue Market.

Also at the market is Plant Joy vegan meal prep/delivery service. Newer vendors include Pupuseria Los Angeles, makers of El Salvadorian pupuserias, hand-held thick corn tortillas stuffed with various ingredients. Burgers, Tots and Wings lives up to its name with signature offerings; and Dawg City, with Chicago style hot dogs, has a vendor spot North Avenue Market in addition to its 3rd Street Market Hall space. They prepare a Sunday brunch with chicken and waffles. Scratch Ice Cream sells its small-batch ice cream by the scoop.

Bittercube, makers of artisan bitters, has been at North Avenue Market since the beginning. They operate the island-style bar on the Main Level, as well as Mosler’s Vault, a speakeasy cocktail bar in the Garden Level. Bittercube’s production and Bazaar is located near the Market at 4828 W. Lisbon Ave.

North Avenue Market hosts comedy nights, jazz musicians, karaoke, game nights, cribbage tournaments and pop-up markets, along with fundraisers, corporate events, book clubs, birthday parties and life celebrations. They partner with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) for WWBIC Wednesday educational events. The Market hosts Sip & Financial Literacy classes, led by Stifel wealth management and investment firm, along with wine and crafts events.

Harris Morse strove to build community by creating a welcoming space. The north end of the bar on the Main Level is table height to accommodate all abilities. An elevator connects the Main Level to the lower Garden Level so wheelchair users and families with strollers have convenient access to both floors. There’s also a bike repair station, conference rooms and coworking spaces.

A stage hosts live entertainment, presentations and demonstrations. A large drop-down screen shows sports games or can be used for presentations. Harris Morse notes that TVs in the lower conference rooms can sync with the same presentation played on the upstairs screen. A double-sided fireplace offers comfort in indoor or outdoor seating areas. A drive-through, a remnant of the building’s former days as a bank, serves customers that desire convenience.

“We have a lot of groups either starting up or moving from a food truck to a brick-and-mortar business. We strive to bring diverse groups of not just food and entertainment to market, but also business owners,” Harris Morse concludes. “We are presented with a lot of different ideas that we may not have thought of for the space.”

For more information and upcoming events, visit northavemkt.com, instagram.com/northavemarket and facebook.com/NorthAveMKT.