A Tour of Madison's Main Street

The more you dig into the 50,000-square-foot space at 931 East Main Street the more connections you can find. This is the place to explore local flavors and chat with food producers about their craft.

A Food and Beverage Ecosystem

Commonwealth Development first renovated the building in the 1990s to provide a space for its food incubator companies from the Madison Enterprise Center to move into once they graduated.

The purpose of the space today is to provide practical production for local goods and increasingly, to allow customers to see the process and learn about the products. “I want our staff to be educated on how we make our products so they can talk to our customers and teach people about the spirits,” says Nathan Greenawalt, owner of Old Sugar Distillery. “We have an old-fashioned rustic aesthetic. I like to highlight the fact that the spirits are made the same way as they have been for the past 130-plus years.”

Both Greenawalt and fellow tenant Shawn Bedoluc of The Baked Lab want to create a welcoming atmosphere that helps educate people on how their food products are made. The interior spaces of Main Street Industries are locked during the day, but businesses offer times for pop-up classes and more so people can see food production in action.

“I wanted to have a space that I could do production in but have the customer-facing side of the business as well,” says Greenawalt. “I like the location being close to downtown but off the beaten path.”

And it’s working. Greenawalt underestimated the popularity of Old Sugar Distillery’s Main Street tasting room. He has consistently grown his business since he moved in in 2010, taking over two additional suites to use as warehouse and event space.

A Who’s Who in Food

The two most visible businesses, on Brearly and Main Street respectively, are Giant Jones Brewing and Old Sugar Distillery. But in the winding hallways of Main Street Industries are production spaces for other well-known local food businesses: The Baked Lab, Origin Breads, Bunky’s and The Deliciouser. Quince & Apple, a powerhouse in the regional food scene, occupied several suites here for over a decade.

Shawn Beduloc of The Baked Lab moved into Main Street Industries in 2021 and shared the space with the former babka bakery Bayk. He had a short stint in Madison Enterprise Center, a Commonwealth building on Baldwin Street, but returned when a larger space opened up.

“I knew it was a great space,” Beduloc says. “And that I’d be putting myself with some bigger players in the food industry.” The abundance of food production tenants makes it easy to find inspiration and even spare supplies.

“We have really great rapport with each other. It’s amazing to be surrounded by other food businesses,” says Beduloc. “I can go to neighbors to get a cup of flour. That is amazing for the level of business that is here trying to grow and become a part of the Madison community. We have our own little small business community within Madison.”

Working Together

Multiple times a year, the space hosts the Maker’s Market to showcase the various businesses in the building. Throughout the year, collaborations abound with Main Street Industries’ tenants supporting each other to build a unique food scene.

• Every Wednesday from 5–8 p.m., Origin Breads hosts a sourdough pizza night at Giant Jones Brewing.
• The Baked Lab offers dessert and beer pairing nights with Giant Jones Brewing.
• Bunky’s and The Deliciouser are collaborating on a line-up of flavored hummus this fall.
• When Old Sugar Distillery and The Deliciouser host events, they often refer clients to other tenants to provide wedding cakes, drinks and more.
• At the center of the building is Pat’s Gym. Through a partnership with the Dane County Food Collective, the gym hosts free weekly workouts for food industry workers.

The Baked Lab

Owner Shawn Beduloc offers from-scratch group baking classes at his Learning Lab. Learn how to make everything from simple cakes to croissants and macarons—no experience required. “My whole thing is the science behind baking—why things work,” he says. “We go through the whole process and everyone makes their own version from scratch.”

Beduloc’s team creates beautiful, modern wedding and birthday cakes. The most popular flavors are bourbon espresso chocolate and banana hazelnut crunch. Order cream puffs, cookies, bars or cakes for a crowd online—or find individual portions at Crescendo, Delta Beer Lab and Working Draft Brewery.

Bunky’s
You’ve never had hummus this smooth. When Bunky’s custom-built hummus machine wouldn’t fit in their original Atwood Avenue location, they moved hummus production to Main Street. Find their pita chips and hummus at several retail locations including Metcalfe’s Market.

Community Shares of Wisconsin
With over 70 nonprofits on its roster, this organization raises funds and awareness for social causes. One of their main focuses is sustainability, food and farms. Fairshare CSA Coalition and REAP Food Group are members.

The Deliciouser
This spice store meets restaurant/event space offers private dinners, cooking workshops and restaurant dining. Owners Patrick O’Halloran, Michelle Oyamada and Marcia Castro partner with area chefs like Lauren Montelbano of the Vibrant Veg and farmers like Sarah Wells of Wells Farms to create sumptuous one-of-a-kind menus that center around one of their spice collections (i.e. Mediterranean, Italian, etc.). Their space is used to grind everything from peppercorn and chilies to fennel and cumin for their signature spice blends. Spices are sold individually, or explore your taste buds with a quarterly spice box subscription.

Giant Jones Brewing

Erika and Jessica Jones brew and bottle their certified organic beer on-site. The beer is known for its bold flavors sourced from Wisconsin farms. They only produce “giant” beers with ABVs of 7% and over. Their tasting room plays host to daily reverie and regular pop-ups featuring local chefs and food producers.

Old Sugar Distillery

The two best-selling spirits are Bourbon and Queen Jennie Whiskey made from Wisconsin sorghum. One year, Greenawalt bought 10,000 pounds of sorghum syrup from Rolling Meadows Farm near Elkhart Lake. He also buys local apple cider for one of their drinks. “It’s nice to be able to support local agriculture,” Greenawalt says.

Origin Breads

Kirk Smock started his business in 2016 after many years as a home baker fascinated by traditional fermentation techniques. He uses organic grains from Meadowlark Community Mill in Ridgeway and other area grain farmers to create long-fermented baked goods. Find the bakery’s sourdough breads, bagels and cookies at the Dane County Farmers’ Market.