Brennan's closing in September

[Henry Vilas]

Got an email from Brennan's Market this morning saying they will close all their stores in September due to lack of business. Competition has got to them. I wonder if the Jacobson's Delis inside their stores will relocate.

[HawkHead]

What???? That sucks. I love Brennan's. I shop there almost every weekend to pick something up.

[Michael Patrick]

I was just there over the weekend and there were lots of people in the store.

I love their selection of cheese, I'm gonna miss it...

[Beard]

Got an email from Brennan's Market this morning saying they will close all their stores in September due to lack of business. Competition has got to them. I wonder if the Jacobson's Delis inside their stores will relocate.

It's "breaking news" on Madison.com now.


I've been to Brennan's a few times throughout the years. I know that it has a real following but I was never really "wowed" by it. Maybe, if there was a location that was convenient for me to get to, I would have stopped more often, but as it is I didn't see it worth the trouble to go out of my way for.There's a lot of places with solid cheese/fruit selections.

[gargantua]

I enjoyed shopping there the few times I gave it a chance. Too many other places met the same needs, so I rarely gave them a thought.

[jman111]

Pretty bummed. We've come to really appreciate the opportunity to taste fruit before buying. There's really no excuse for walking out of there with sub-par produce-- only buy what tastes great!

[Ducatista]

I love their selection of cheese, I'm gonna miss it...

Willy St West crushes Brennan's cheese selection, IMO. Metcalfe's has a great lineup, too, and Whole Foods isn't bad. I do like going to Brennan's for produce once in a while, but not enough that I'll miss it.

Still sad news, though... must be incredibly hard to shutter a long-running business like Brennan's.

[universitylad]

I'll miss the basil farmer's cheese the most. Has anyone seen a similar cheese elsewhere in town? Also great to munch on free samples.

[Igor]

I'll miss the basil farmer's cheese the most.

This. I loved going there for fruit, with the exception of bananas - theirs seemed to get overripe faster. Thought their prices were decent on veggies too.

[Henry Vilas]

The Watts Road store will reopen next month as Brennan's Cellars. A former manager bought the name and will run the store.

[Igor]

Interesting that they say it will be smaller. I would think that subdividing that particular store would be problematic. (unless they are just talking about the store space that is being changing from Wine/Beer to deli)

For me it was always about fruit, then veggies, and occasionally some cheese. My taste in wine is not refined enough to justify buying good stuff.

[Prof. Wagstaff]

Yeah, pretty sure they just mean using existing space differently than before, not subdividing. Perhaps you missed the detail about adding "a deli with prepared foods and in-store seating." That will use up some real estate.
Looking forward to this. I had been taking Brennan's for granted the last few years and now that they're gone, I regret that.

[Michael Patrick]

That location isn't as convenient for me as the one out west on University, but I'll still make it a point to shop there.

[Igor]

Yeah, pretty sure they just mean using existing space differently than before, not subdividing. Perhaps you missed the detail about adding "a deli with prepared foods and in-store seating." That will use up some real estate.
Looking forward to this. I had been taking Brennan's for granted the last few years and now that they're gone, I regret that.

Yeah,saw that - my assumption as well. Maybe trying to make it into a Gino's equivalent in that section of the store.

[Henry Vilas]

Madison.com has a more extensive article today.

It’s unclear what will occupy the 10,000-square-foot space that had been the fruit and vegetable departments at the Watts Road location but Mulcahy said he and Rouse want something that will mesh well with Brennan’s Cellars, which will have more of a focus on cheese than the Brennan’s stores of the past. That model could be expanded to other smaller locations, Mulcahy said.