World of Beer's Wauwatosa location just opened in August. Credit: Gary Porter

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After some back-and-forth by partners in the World of Beer at 1300 E. Brady St., the majority partner said Wednesday that he was closing the lower east side location at the end of the day Friday, while a minority partner said he wants to acquire it and continue to operate it.

The store posted on social media Tuesday evening that "It is with a sad heart that we announce after 2 years of being open we are closing the doors at our Brady St. location at the end of the month."

Late Tuesday, a minority partner in the store, Jeff Ferchoff, countered in an email that the postings were false and not authorized. "We are not planning on closing," Jeff Ferchoff said in the email.

Majority owner Wayne Farmer, however, said Wednesday that he intends to close the store Friday night, with discounts on beer this week to liquidate the inventory. The closing had been planned for several days before the posting and employees were notified, he said.

"We just don't have enough guests," said Farmer, who also owns World of Beer stores in Tennessee and Florida.

Ferchoff said Wednesday that his company "is in the process of working out the transition," with plans to update the Brady St. store with a full kitchen and hopes of selling spirits in addition to beer. "We wouldn't expect to interrupt the business more than 5 days," he said in an email Wednesday, if he were able to acquire the business.

Farmer said the store is allowed to sell only beer and not spirits because of its lease agreement. Since the Brady St. location opened, corporate offices have added spirits to the World of Beer menu, but the Brady St. location cannot sell them.

"I hate closing, I really do," he said, and suggested that "it's not impossible for the train to stop" if the store were allowed to sell liquor.

The Brady St. location was the first Wisconsin location for the Florida-based chain of bars specializing in craft and imported beers, with 30 taps and hundreds more beers by the bottle.

Ferchoff and Adam Chwala, another minority partner in the Brady St. store, opened a second World of Beer in August, at 418 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa.

"Tosa is doing extremely well," Ferchoff said, adding that two more World of Beer sites are in the works and would be revealed later.

Farmer, who is not involved in the Tosa location, said that store's ability to sell hard liquor in addition to food and beer contributes to its success.