Garver Feed Mill is an award-winning turn-of-the-century building on Madison's near East Side that is home to a collection of producers, artisan food makers, wellness studios and hospitality providers.
2020 Historic Preservation Award
2020 Historic Restoration Award
2020 WI AIA Merit Design Award
2021 ASID Bronze Award
Local has a new home.
ABOUT
Located on Madison's near East Side, nestled behind Olbrich Gardens, the award-winning Garver Feed Mill is a multi-faceted destination that features local artisans, producers, wellness studios, and retailers offering visitors everything from coffee to ice cream, catering to kombucha.
The renovated Feed Mill honors and preserves Madison's rich agricultural and industrial history by re-activating the building as a next-generation food production center and provide visitors with the opportunity to taste the best of Madison. The historic Mill has been transformed into a platform for local food businesses to grow, and in turn, expand Madison's profile as a Midwestern hub of high quality, hand crafted food and drink.
Private and public events in our indoor and outdoor event spaces keep Garver bustling throughout the year, bringing people from near and far to "the Soul of Madison" - the vibrant East Side of the City. In winter months, Garver is home to the Dane County Farmers Market, the largest producer only farmers market in the nation.
Health and wellness enthusiasts looking to connect with themselves, each other, and the world around them will also find community at Garver Feed Mill through a variety of spiritual and physical wellness offerings from yoga and meditation classes to aromatherapy and spa retreats.
Garver is a foodie and wellness destination for locals and out-of-towners alike, benefiting from the close proximity and future programming with Olbrich Botanical Gardens and Olbrich Park.
Go local with the best food & drinks Madison has to offer!
Hours of Operation
MONDAY 7:30 AM—9:00 PM | Garver Lounge ClosedTUESDAY 7:30 AM— 9:00 PM | Garver Lounge Closed
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WEDNESDAY 7:30 AM— 9:00 PM | Garver Lounge: 5:00 PM—9:00 PM
THURSDAY 7:30 AM— 9:00 PM | Garver Lounge: 5:00 PM—10:00 PM
FRIDAY 7:30 AM— 9:00 PM | Garver Lounge: 5:00 PM—10:00 PM
SUNDAY 7:30 AM—9:00 PM | Garver Lounge: 10:00 AM—10:00 PM
SATURDAY 7:30 AM—9:00 PM | Garver Lounge: 10:00 AM—3:00 PM
Kosa Ayurvedic Spa
An Ayurvedic spa for retreat & self-care
Thursday - Saturday: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Please call or visit website for more information.
Ledger Coffee Roasters
Roasting beautiful coffee
Mon-Sat: 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM; Sun: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Visit our website for more information.
Briar Loft
Garden-inspired floral design for weddings and events
by appointment only
#wisconsinweddings
NessAlla Kombucha
The world's first craft kombucha company
by appointment only
For tour times, please visit our website.
Sitka Salmon Shares
Sustainable seafood delivered to your door
by appointment only
Stay Wild!
Garver Lounge
Gather in a spacious mill
Reservations for large and small groups here.
For menu and hours, click here for more information.
Garver Events
A quintessential Madison experience
Host your special event in the 100-year-old landmark Garver Feed Mill. Whatever the occasion, Garver Events can deliver exactly what you need to make it perfect.
Over 100 years in the making, the Garver Feed Mill is a true Madison landmark, and one of the few remaining architectural examples of the region's industrial and agricultural heritage.
Bringing Industry to Madison
The Garver Feed Mill has been a Madison icon since its earliest days. Built in 1906, the Mill was originally constructed as a sugar beet processing facility by the 
Garver Pictured as the US Sugar Co. FactoryUnited States Sugar Company
. As the largest factory in the state of Wisconsin, the facility played an essential role in Madison's economic development and emergence as a major industrial center. Designed by the prominent Madison firm of Law, Law and Potter, the building became known throughout the city as the "Sugar Castle" due to its gothic arched windows and Richardsonian turret, which gave the building a palatial appearance. The sugar plant remained in operation until it closed its doors in 1924.
Two women standing in front of the Garver Feed Mill ca. 1924
From Sugar Castle to Feed Mill
In 1929, University of Wisconsin - Madison alumnus James Russell Garver purchased the building and surrounding land. Over the next two years, James R. Garver converted the building into a 
Garver brought new industry to Madisonstate-of-the-art feed mill and granary
. For the next sixty-six years, the building operated in that capacity, playing an important role in 
An Advertisement for Garver's Poultry FeedMadison's agricultural history
. In 1997, feed processing was discontinued, and the Mill was purchased by the City of Madison. For the past eighteen years, the structure has stood vacant, waiting to become an essential part of the Madison landscape once more.
Garver added state-of-the-art pelletizers to the building
A New Chapter for Garver
In 2015, following numerous attempts to find an appropriate use and buyer, the City of Madison reached out to Baum Revision to 
The Mill will be repaired and restoredpreserve the Mill and re-activate the building & grounds
as a hub for Madison's burgeoning local food industry. Today, the Baum Revision team is working on plans to rehabilitate the Mill and repurpose it as a local artisan food production facility - a use that is both historically accurate and remarkably fitting for Madison's bright future as a destination for food producers and foodies alike.
The dilapidated building will be transformed into a vibrant food center
Construction Begins
Madison's historic preservation expert contractors, Bachmann Construction, begin construction on the dilapidated Garver Feed Mill.
The dilapidated building will be transformed into a vibrant food and wellness hub.
Garver's Open House & Ribbon-cutting Ceremony
We're officially open! In celebration of completing the full renovation of the Mill, Garver and the collective tenants produced the very first open house event, kicked off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with visitors and special guests on November 1, 2019.
Ribbon-cutting ceremony with the collective and the 46th Governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers.
An Award-Winning Year!
To date, Garver Feed Mill and its project partners have received 5 awards including: Mixed Use Award of Merit by IIDA Southwest PRIDE Awards 2020, 2020 Historic Restoration Award by the Wisconsin Historical Society, 2020 WI AIA Merit Design Award by Wisconsin Architect Magazine, 2020 Historic Preservation Award for Adaptive Reuse from the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, 2020 Commercial Development Award "Best New Development or Renovation - Mixed Use: Garver Feed Mill" from In Business Magazine.
Photography Advisory
We appreciate your interest in using the Garver building as a photography backdrop for professional business photos, however, we currently do not permit professional posed photography at Garver unless you are part of a privately booked function through Garver Events, LLC. Posed photography would include wedding, family, engagement, prom, maternity, graduation, senior photos or the like.
As you may know, one of our current tenants at Garver is Twig & Olive Photography. In fairness to our tenant, we cannot allow other professional photographers to utilize the Garver space and have the same benefits as our rent paying tenants. We appreciate your cooperation in this regard.
We encourage guests and visitors to take casual photographs of their visit for their own personal use. However, if you are coming to the Garver for the purpose of taking professional posed photos, please be advised that this is not permitted. Thank you again for your interest.
