Between Milwaukee And Waukesha Is Wisconsin's Vibrant Mall With Shops And Small-Town Energy

In the outer ring of Milwaukee's suburbs, you might not find the high energy of downtown, but some developments provide the feeling of a central hub without being directly in the city. About a 30-minute commute from Downtown Milwaukee and close enough to the nature enclaves that sprout up just beyond the metro area, The Corners of Brookfield is a shopping mall that stands in as a town center for Brookfield, the small Wisconsin city hidden in Milwaukee's shadow. Rather than occupying a single indoor block, The Corners is laid out like a mini-city. It has a central green space, with shops and dining spaces on streets criss-crossed around it.

The Corners of Brookfield emerged as an answer to the fact that Brookfield didn't have a central social and commercial spot. "The town of Brookfield just doesn't have its own downtown and [The Corners] provides that space for us," Brookfield town administrator Tom Hagie told Western Retail Advisors. Its mini-streets — like Lord Street and High Street — have names reminiscent of English towns, and were indeed intended to have a British market flair. The open-air mall incorporates a distinctive design choice to work around a space constraint: its parking lot sits underground beneath the mall's expanse, allowing for more space to be used by shops and giving some shelter for visitors during harsher weather. On the ground level, its layout provides a walkable grid for spending a day of shopping or hanging out with a drink in its public space. For both locals and travelers, The Corners offers a place to shop, dine, attend events, and simply spend time in a setting designed to feel like the heart of the community.

Along the village-like streets of The Corners of Brookfield, shoppers will find a colorful mix characteristic of outdoor malls for the ultimate shopping experience: recognizable retail brands, local boutiques, cafés, sit-down restaurants, and entertainment. Among its national brands are the department store Von Maur, activewear brand Lululemon, and women's clothing store Anthropologie, to name a few. If you like to support local businesses, you might stop by Twigs, a Wisconsin-based women's clothing boutique with 4.9 stars on Google.

The Corners has a couple of health-forward dining spots you might recognize, including a Sweetgreen (for salads and bowls) and FreshFin (for poké bowls). A favorite dine-in option is Margaux Brasserie, an upscale French restaurant, albeit with prices to match its higher-end atmosphere. One of the perks of The Corners is that you can take food to-go from its resident dining offerings and bring it to its outdoor seating areas, making it easy to enjoy a meal while taking in the lively, town-square atmosphere.

For entertainment, The Corners is home to a comedy club location of Improv, where you can catch a stand-up show, drag performance, or magic show. The mall hosts numerous other, sporadic events across its stores and green spaces, from a summer yoga series to wine tastings. After a shopping day, you could head a bit further into the state to Pewaukee, a lakeside retreat with outdoor adventures, about a 15-minute drive away. If you're coming from Downtown Milwaukee, you can drive to The Corners in close to 30 minutes by car or via Wisconsin Coach Lines. It's even closer from Waukesha, just about a 10-minute drive, and, of course, there's plenty of free parking in its underground facility.