About Ember social
We (Amy & Nick fallucca) purchased the building in July of 2023 after falling in love with the history & beautiful structure. Nick grew up in grafton, and our family moved back here from milwaukee in late 2019. it was a difficult transition for us because we greatly missed the amazing restaurants, entertainment, and experiences that milwaukee has to offer! ember social was born of a desire to make connections in the community and create more fun, unique experiences in grafton. after a harrowing renovation, we were thrilled to open our doors in october of 2024. we are grateful for the opportunity to activate this space in a way that benefits our community. we’re looking forward to creating amazing memories for you, and with you!
History of our building
the Heinz 57 building, as most know it, is one of the oldest buildings in the village of Grafton, constructed in 1868 as a Blacksmith Shop. In the early 1900's it housed Tillman Bros Garage, which sold and repaired Brisco touring cars, a new alternative to the horse and carriage!
It later became Grafton Truck Line, a truck / heavy equipment repair shop run by the Thomas family.
In 1963, the Reich family purchased the building where they ran their business, Heinz 57 Auto Shop. They sold the property to Merle Wuenne when Heinz was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Merle ran Merle Wuenne Plumbing in the building until they sold the property back to the Reicks when Heinz returned from the war and resumed operations of the auto shop.
In November of 2020, the building had a devastating fire, after which the auto shop was no longer allowed due to zoning restrictions.
We (Amy & Nick Fallucca) purchased the building in 2023 and renovated it to become Ember Social, an event and coworking space. The name is an homage to the building's origin as a blacksmith shop!
1886 - H KOHLWEY BLACKSMITH SHOP
Early 1900’s - Tillman Bros Garage
1950’s? Grafton Truck Line (Thomas Family)
1963 - Heinz 57 Auto shop (Reick Family)
Merle Wuenne Plumbing
November 2020 - Fire destroys roof and interior of building
2023 - building purchased by fallucca family, Renovations commence
October 24th, 2024 - Grand opening of Ember social
Links & Articles
If you have additional information, photos, or videos of 1327 / 1329 Wisconsin Avenue or 1102 Beech Street, please send them to embergrafton@gmail.com - thank you!!!
