Stone Creek – Factory Café

422 N. 5th Street, Milwaukee

I guess this is where Stone Creek roasts coffee and all that, maybe they have offices in here—it’s a terrific big warehouse building under the highway and near the train and bus station—it’s got a big city feel to it, though I get a sense that there are a lot of regulars here. Not particularly warm and friendly (in general—but the people working here are super nice). I was mailing something at the East Side P.O. and saw the trolley (“The Hop”) coming, so I jumped on, rode to the end of the line, which is here. Which is funny, because I woke up this morning with an anxiety dream about trying to get coffee before a train trip at a super crowded convenience store, and all I could get my hands on was a head of lettuce. Enough laptops here to put a chill on your morning. Good window seats because the window counters are low enough for normal chairs! The bad part, though—the windows look out on cars, highways, vacant lots, and enormous Clear Channel billboards—visually, it’s the asshole of the world.

4.26.23