Colectivo Coffee – US Bank Café

777 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee

If the word “atrium” makes you break out in panic anxiety, I understand, and if “concourse” makes you want to run in the other direction, and if Colectivo’s “US Bank” location sounds like a bummer—I get it. This one is in my backyard and I avoided it for years—until I finally worked at a building connected via skywalks—so during very hot or cold or wet weather it became inevitable. I even ate lunch here, occasionally, whenever the menu had some decent gluten-free options. There’s an enormous cafeteria across the hall called Downtown Kitchen—a bit of a drag to eat at, but good food options including a salad bar. Colectivo did a nice job of designing their little café, here, so that it takes advantage of the open spaces and high ceilings of the connecting atrium, but they also provide somewhat intimate cubbyhole seating for escape. I always felt comfortable here—and you can kind of mix and match food, coffee, seating, etc., because as far as I know there are no fascist atrium barcode cops. There’s also general seating right out in the hall—an odd space between businesses that never seem to stay around—pretty much open to the public, all day—for chilling, warming up, meetings, trysts, caper planning, what have you.

2.7.24