USA, WI: Lombardi Brewing Company files plan to take over former City Lights space in Milwaukee

A brewery with a familiar name in Wisconsin is relaunching its brand and opening its first brick-and-mortar location in the former City Lights Brewing Company space in Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on May 27.

Lombardi Brewing Company has filed an occupancy permit to take over the taproom at 2210 W. Mount Vernon Ave.

City Lights had been in the space in the historic Milwaukee Gas Light Co. building from 2017 until it closed on Jan. 4, 2025.

Lombardi Brewing has been around for a few years, producing beers like Lombardi Golden Lager and Longarm Amber through contract brewing. It had distributed the beer to bars and restaurants around Stevens Point and Wausau in 2021 and 2022, according to its Facebook page.

In April 2025, after more than three years of silence in its Facebook page, the brewery began hinting at opening a Milwaukee taproom.

Amanda Gethers, who applied for the occupancy permit, declined to comment on the brewery's plans when contacted May 27.

City Lights Brewing was known for beers such as its Coconut Porter and Mexican Lager. Its Menomonee Valley taproom was popular for its large patio along the Menomonee River.