MILWAUKEE — It’s finally come time to say goodbye to a pillar of the Milwaukee community. The iconic Brady Street Futons is closing.
“It’s a staple of the neighborhood," Robert Bueno, a longtime customer said.
“It represents Brady Street," Todd Pump, another longtime customer said.
Kurt Bauer, the famous futon phenom of Brady Street, is closing his shop after furnishing homes for decades.
“It’s going to be sad to not be part of it. I just have other things that I want to do.”
He wants to focus more on custom artistic upholstery projects. Bauer said it's simply time to move on from the place has spent three decades.
"I’ve been in love with this place for 31 years.”
He started working on this Brady Street corner in the 90s making mattresses. Then in about 1996, he bought the store. Since then, Bauer has sold futons to thousands of East Siders.
“I’m sitting on an actual Brady Street Futon in its natural environment the hybrid office/guest room," Robert Kennedy said as he sat on his futon in his East Side home.
These futons have always been there when you need a place to rest.
“All told probably a dozen from my father, my sister, my brother, friends who may be just coming out on the East Side. I’m like hey you’re not driving home. Let’s get the futon ready," he said.
Kennedy even had Hollywood celebrity Bai Ling sleep on his futon. She was in movies like The Crow, Red Corner, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and shows like Lost and Entourage.
Watch the story below about the legacy of Brady Street Futons:
Longtime customer, Robert Bueno has been coming in here for decades.
“How many futons do you think you’ve bought from here?" TMJ4's James Groh asked.
“Three. A total of three over the years," Bueno said.
His friend, Todd Pump has been coming in just as long. It's the first place he sends people when they need their homes furnished.
"It represents everything from the last 30 years of Brady Street. You go to somebody's house and they have a futon... you know that it came from here," Pump said.
Occasionally, online chatter will discuss Brady Street Futons. People ask how it is still open, if it's a sort of front, and who buys futons anymore. Bauer sees all those comments. At first, he wasn't much of a fan. Now, he looks back and chuckles at those comments.
"I’ve heard some stuff, but the only thing that's true is that we were a furniture store, upholstery shop."
The reputation of Brady Street Futons grew bigger than Bauer could ever imagine.
“It’s interesting that a futon shop, you know, could become something of a, you know, staple of anywhere I guess," he said.
But everyone does need a place to sit and sleep and do other activities.
“We’ve had customers tell us that they made their family on a Brady Street futon," Bauer said.
These futons even become heirlooms.
“Come in as new parents and through the years they’d come in and those kids have those futons that their parents had and now they want a new mattress for it. And its become something to hand down, and that's been pretty cool."
However, all journeys come to an end at some point. The countdown to Brady Street Futon's final days has started. At the end of March, the shop will close and Bauer would like to sell the building soon after.
“You know, looking back I’m pretty proud. Its been a hustle every day, every week, but looking back I’m really happy with what we’ve done. I feel really proud.”
Bauer will focus on making custom artistic upholstery. He plans to enjoy a version of retirement. But exactly how "retired" he will be remains to be known.
One thing is for certain, though. The memory of this store will last well beyond the final time the store's door closes.
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