Brookfield Square Mall has been on the decline for years, with the space vacant, stores empty, individuals like Even Nevals wanted to make use of the aging building. A new event has allowed for the mall to go from desolate to swarming with energy every weekend.
“All these years I’ve been wondering why don’t we just continue [farmers markets] all year round,” said Nevals, manager for the Brookfield Winter Farmers Market and owner of Vocado MKE, a business dedicated to avocado toast and dishes. “I realized this mall has been pretty vacant for a while, and I thought why not a better place to have a winter market here.”
The empty mall is now home to the Brookfield Winter Farmers Market every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Nov. 22, 2025, through April 2026.
“The Brookfield Winter Farmers Market has been lighting in a bottle,” said Peter Chiconas, owner of Day Bread Bakery, a Japanese bread bakery, and UW-Milwaukee Alumn. “I’ve been doing better saleswise here than in the summer, which is pretty incredible.”…