Canni Infusion Bar & Cafe

Canni began in 2018 as Canni Hemp Co., Milwaukee's first dedicated CBD and hemp shop, and reopened its Walker's Point storefront at 810 S. 5th St. in November 2023 as Canni Infusion Bar & Cafe. The concept is "choose your own adventure": a full menu of craft cocktails and cafe drinks that can each be served straight (zero-proof), spirited with alcohol, or botanically infused. Owner Colin Plant told Urban Milwaukee the team "noticed years ago that there was this growing trend of people that wanted to enjoy social experiences, but not have to be in a bar that's focused on alcohol to do so," and later described a rising demographic in Milwaukee practicing abstinence from alcohol.

The non-alcoholic program is unusually deep for a licensed bar. Per OnMilwaukee's Dry January coverage, cafe/bar manager Moonie Swaser designed every drink to be versatile, so any item can be ordered with alcohol, with zero-proof spirits, or with no alcohol at all. The standing named menu includes OJ & Kush (orange juice, vanilla, seltzer), Cucumber Frost (club soda and mint), Riverwalk (black tea, blood orange, lemonade), Mr. Milwaukee Margarita (pomegranate, lime, mint), Elderberry Hot Chocolate and Desert Dream, alongside all-day coffee, tea, taro milk tea and blueberry limeade. That every drink is available fully NA is what places Canni at the high end of the alcohol-free spectrum.

The important qualifier is that Canni is a hybrid, not a dry bar. Shepherd Express (Jan. 9, 2025) reported that Canni holds a liquor license to offer alcoholic versions of its drinks and may be the only bar and cafe in Wisconsin — perhaps the country — to offer both cannabis and alcohol in the same space. Its optional infusions include hemp-derived Delta-9 THC, full-spectrum CBD, kava and functional mushrooms (lion's mane, chaga, reishi, cordyceps), so sober-curious and fully sober guests should order deliberately and be aware of THC/kava dosing. Canni also functions as an events and live-music space, hosting alcohol-free programming such as "Zero Proof: A Dry January Groove."