William Shatner was coming to Milwaukee WI in March so we jumped at the chance to see him. He’s 91, just went to space, and is a cultural icon. We’d seen his Shatner’s World show in 2019 and it was a two hours of great stories.
On our drive through Wisconsin, we decided coffee was in order so we found a really interesting shop in Clinton, The Little Castle Coffee Shop. It’s located five minutes off the interstate in the downtown area of Clinton. What a neat little town.
The shop looks like a castle and there’s a story behind that. From the Clinton Community Historical Society Facebook page:
Built in 1933 by Dr Charles Dodge MD, who was fascinated by the European castles he had seen when he was in military service during WWI. During the depression in 1933, Dr Dodge gave his patients the opportunity to work on the construction of his office in exchange for medical services. The office subsequently was occupied by Adam Lunowa and Rollo Mason who were in the real estate and insurance business. In 1953 attorney Muriel Prazak shared the office and later took occupancy of the whole building.
facebook.com/CCHS1843Cobblestone/posts/4204144399630789/
Apparently, the building was eventually converted to this very interesting coffee shop in 2021. We ordered a couple of medium roast to-go cups along with a very tasty cream cheese muffin. The service was quick and very friendly and the coffee was excellent. Definitely worth the stop. Check thier hours, times do vary on the weekends.
Before the show we need to get a bit to eat so we chose a restaurant we’ve gone to several times, Cafe Hollander on Downer Ave. in Milwaukee. In the summer, they have ample outdoor seating but you would assume winter not so much. Wrong! They have set up, for lack of a better description, igloo greenhouses complete with heat and extra lighting. We were seated in one of the domes and while 30 degrees outside, it was a toasty 75 inside. This was a very interesting experience. Even though it was right along the sidewalk, being inside felt very private and cozy.
After a great meal (try thier frites [french fries] with Jalapeno BBQ dipping sauce) we headed to the Pabst Theater. There was some free parking on the street but we opted for a parking garage with a short walk. The theater was built in 1895 and has undergone numerous renovations but still maintains it’s german opera house heritage.
We settled in and soon Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan started. While I’ve seen the movie what seems like a hundred times, I’d only watched it in on a large screen once. It was fun hearing cheers whenever something exciting happened and the booing when the bad guys showed up. After the movie, Shatner came out for some Q&A and stories. I thought it would last 30 minutes-it lasted and hour and 45 min!
Even at 91, he is still on his game although maybe a little slower with the stories. All in all, an enjoyable experience!
The next morning, which started much later due to the late show, we visited Stone Creek Coffee. They have several locations in the area but we choose the Factory Cafe on 5th street in downtown Milwaukee. What a really cool place! They were busy but parking was easy and the line moved very quickly. We also purchased a couple of bags of coffee for later brewing. The coffee tasted great!
They also offer tours and classes on how to brew thier coffee properly. My kind of place!
MKE looks forward to welcoming you back soon.