Oak Barrel Public House

What Oak Barrel Public House does

Oak Barrel Public House is a craft cocktail pub and elevated dining destination operating a single location at 1033 N Doctor M.L.K. Jr Dr on Old World Third Street in Downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 2018 and operating with 16 employees, the business sits between casual bar and fine dining, offering American pub fare, craft cocktails, and a weekend brunch service. The company is part of Cream City Concepts, a Milwaukee hospitality group that also operates Who's on Third, Who's on Layton, and Cream City Catering, sharing operational standards and brand positioning across the portfolio.

The product surface spans five integrated revenue streams: dine-in food and beverage sales (menu items priced $12.99-$21.99), online ordering for pickup, a second-floor private event space accommodating 30 to 180 guests with built-in bar and full AV, full-service catering via Cream City Catering (with an onsite mobile kitchen that cooks fresh at events), and a free courtesy shuttle service to Brewers home games, American Family Field concerts, Summerfest, and the Wisconsin State Fair. The underlying technology is commodity restaurant SaaS: OpenTable for reservations, SpotHopper for website and email marketing, and Tripleseat for private event inquiry management. Distribution is omnichannel across dine-in, takeout, private events, catering, and a marketing program that includes Facebook, Instagram, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, and an email newsletter.

The business model is direct-to-consumer hospitality with pay-as-you-go unit pricing across food, beverage, and kids' menu items, plus event-based and catering pricing for private bookings. The customer base is segmented across downtown hotel guests (Aloft, Hyatt Regency, Fairfield Inn & Suites), convention attendees at the Baird Center, sports and concert eventgoers (Fiserv Forum, American Family Field), private event hosts (corporate dinners, rehearsal dinners, holiday parties), and weekend brunch seekers. The free shuttle functions as both a customer acquisition channel and a deliberate distribution moat tied to event traffic.

Name

Oak Barrel Public House

Legal name

Oak Barrel Public House

Website

https://oakbarrelmilwaukee.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Oak Barrel Public House is a craft cocktail pub and elevated dining destination in Downtown Milwaukee operating since 2018 with 16 employees, serving hotel guests, convention attendees, sports and concert eventgoers, and private event hosts through dine-in, takeout, a 30-180 guest private event space, full-service catering, and a free courtesy shuttle to major local venues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants and Bars

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Pubs & Gastropubs (CRANACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Craft Beer Bars & Taprooms (THAFAEAG), Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA)

Keywords

• Craft cocktail pub
• Elevated pub fare
• Private event venue
• Full-service catering
• Weekend brunch service

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-In Food and Beverage Sales: Core revenue from food and cocktail sales through dine-in service. Menu includes elevated pub fare, craft cocktails, and weekend brunch.
2. Online Ordering and Takeout: Customer orders online for quick pickup through phone orders.
3. Private Event Space Rental: Second-floor private event space hosting 30 to 180 guests. Corporate dinners, birthday parties, rehearsal dinners, holiday parties, and convention group events.
4. Full-Service Catering: Cream City Catering provides full-service catering across Milwaukee with an onsite mobile kitchen that cooks fresh at events. Includes linens, plateware, silverware, and water service. Formats include plated dinner, family-style, buffet, or drop-off.
5. Happy Hour and Specials: Happy Hour on Mon-Thur 4pm to 6pm, Old Fashioned Wednesdays, and weekend brunch on Sat-Sun 10am to 2pm drive off-peak traffic.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Oak Barrel Public House operates a craft cocktail pub and elevated American pub-fare restaurant in Downtown Milwaukee, offering a full food and cocktail menu, weekend brunch service, and happy hour specials. Beyond dine-in, it provides a fully private second-floor event space for 30 to 180 guests, full-service off-premise catering through Cream City Catering, and a free courtesy shuttle to Milwaukee Brewers games, American Family Field concerts, Summerfest, and the Wisconsin State Fair.

Product overview

Oak Barrel Public House is a craft cocktail pub and elevated dining destination offering a unified hospitality experience. The core offering includes the restaurant and bar with full lunch, dinner, and brunch menus featuring American pub fare, craft cocktails, and signature items like The Barrel Benny and Bourbon Bacon Mac N Cheese. Supporting services include Cream City Catering (full-service catering with mobile kitchen), private event space rental (second floor, 30-180 guests), and a courtesy shuttle service to local venues. The company operates as part of Cream City Concepts hospitality group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oak Barrel Restaurant and Bar
• Weekend Brunch Service
• Cream City Catering
• Private Event Space
• Courtesy Shuttle Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Shuttle service available for every Brewers home game, major concerts, Summerfest, and Wisconsin State Fair with no wristband cap
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cream City ConceptscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOak Barrel Public House is part of Cream City Concepts - a Milwaukee hospitality group operating restaurants, catering, and lodging across the city. Every location runs on the same standard and belief about what hospitality should feel like. The group includes Who's on Third and Who's on Layton locations.
• OpenTablecoreTechnology or IntegrationOpenTable integration for online reservation booking on the restaurant website. Customers can book tables through OpenTable directly from the website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harbor House: Upscale Milwaukee lakefront restaurant and event venue. Comparable on the elevated-dining-plus-private-events business model and on the banquet / corporate-event revenue mix.
• The Wicked Hop: Long-running downtown Milwaukee gastropub offering elevated comfort food and a strong brunch program. Competes for the same pre-show, convention, and hotel-guest traffic as Oak Barrel.
• Who's on Third: Sister concept operated under the same Cream City Concepts hospitality group in Milwaukee. Most directly comparable peer because it shares brand standards, procurement, back-office, and operating playbook with Oak Barrel Public House.
• SafeHouse: Tourist-oriented Milwaukee bar and restaurant located downtown near major hotels and attractions. Directly competes for the same pre-show and visitor foot traffic.
• Stone Bowl Grill & Bar: Milwaukee Korean-American gastropub combining elevated food with full bar service. Comparable mid-market neighborhood gastropub model targeting the same dine-out occasion.
• Holler House: Historic Milwaukee neighborhood tavern serving elevated bar fare. Comparable as a neighborhood-pub anchor with strong local loyalty operating in the same metro.
• Bryant's Cocktail Lounge: Iconic Milwaukee craft-cocktail destination known for serious mixology. Comparable on the cocktail-program and adult-night-out segment of Oak Barrel's value proposition.
• Who's on Layton: Another Cream City Concepts location in Milwaukee operating the same elevated-pub, craft-cocktail, and brunch playbook. Direct internal benchmark for menu, pricing, and event-space execution.
• Hubbard Park Lodge: Milwaukee neighborhood bar-and-grill concept with strong weekend brunch and event-space exposure. Comparable on the brunch + private-events revenue mix and on Milwaukee bar-market dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• Buffalo Wild Wings: National sports-bar chain with deep overlap on game-day, Wings, and casual-dining demand. Not a direct craft-cocktail competitor, but competes for the same sports-event and group-dining occasions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/1228991183900078
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oak-barrel-public-house
• Instagraminstagram.com/oakbarrelmilwaukee

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oak Barrel Public House