SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. — At a time when some downtown areas are struggling to fill storefronts, the City of South Milwaukee is finding success. 

What You Need To Know

  • New businesses in South Milwaukee grew 525% between 2017 and 2022

  • Four new businesses opened in 2017 compared to the 25 that opened in 2022

  • The city's Economic Development director said grants have made the city more appealing

  • Existing businesses can see the benefit of growth as well

Between 2017 and 2022, the number of new businesses in the city of around 20,500 people increased by 525%, according to a South Milwaukee Economic Development press release. Just four new businesses opened in 2017, compared to 25 last year. 

Patrick Brever is South Milwaukee’s assistant city administrator and Economic Development director. Brever said when it comes to seeing a big increase in new businesses, there are often many factors at play.

One thing Brever credits is robust small business grant programs. He said many new businesses in town have taken advantage of loans at the state level from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and at the local level from the Bucyrus Foundation. 

“The average community in Wisconsin will lose $76,000 in economic activity for each vacant storefront so it has been our priority to fill them,” said Brever. “We have had a lot of success and a quarter million dollars was awarded to South Milwaukee small businesses through that program.” 

Brever also said the city has made an effort to recruit new businesses by touting the ability to start a business for less money than in nearby Milwaukee or other nearby cities. In addition, he said other local business success stories speak for themselves. 

“We have a supportive business community downtown. In some cases, they are even potentially competing with each other. They do their own recruitment as well and the more activity we are seeing downtown, the more it benefits everybody,” said Brever. 

Established businesses are seeing the benefits of more downtown business.

Michael “Doc” Donnell opened South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats three years ago. Donell said he has been pleased to see so many other businesses popping up. It benefits his butcher's shop. 

“You see those businesses moving in one at a time, but when you look back and see the numbers of that increase, that’s an impressive number,” said Donnell. 

Donnell said seeing a strong downtown contributes to his future goal of remaining in the community. He said he recently received a grant to help make exterior improvements on his building, including restoring a historic mural on the side of the building which advertised ice cream. 

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