Business of the Week: Timekeeper Distillery

Wausau Pilot & Review

Editor’s note: This sponsored weekly feature shares the stories of locally-owned and operated businesses and organizations in the Wausau area, highlighting the products and services they offer and the ways they contribute to the metro area’s unique flavor. Learn how to feature your business by emailing [email protected].

This week’s featured business is Timekeeper Distillery, 720 Grant St., Wausau. Though the business officially opened its doors in 2018, the dream behind Timekeeper was years in the making and is now one of Wausau’s most popular destinations. Dan and Kimm Weber married just days after signing on the dotted line to purchase what was once a bustling Milwaukee Railroad train station. Built in 1902, the depot carried passengers to and from Wausau for decades and was at one point threatened with demolition after the popularity of railway travel faded and service finally ended in the city. But everything changed in 2017 when Dan and Kimm bought the building and began renovations in earnest, spending their honeymoon restoring the depot to its original beauty, one layer at a time. One of Wausau’s most iconic landmarks, the depot now houses a thriving distillery that includes a bar and tasting room along with a delightful, pet-friendly patio space in which the staff serves delicious, handcrafted cocktails and an array of complementing food dishes. Though the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges, Dan and Kimm rose to the occasion, producing hand sanitizer and pivoting their operations to keep their business on track. With summer upon us, this is a great time to stop at Timekeeper and enjoy a cocktail or a Wet Vodka Seltzer, available in four delicious flavors. The patio is lovely – a perfect place to enjoy a flatbread, cheese board or one of their other small plates to share – and be sure to order a handcrafted cocktail that will have you swooning at every sip.

Here, Dan and Kimm tell their personal story, sharing Timekeeper Distillery’s origin, name, evolution and their shared vision for the future.

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Q: When was Timekeeper Distillery established – and what prompted you to start such a venture?

Answer by Kimm: Timekeeper Distillery was established in 2017; however, its concept was two years prior. Dan was at his usual volleyball league and joking with friends that he needed to make more money. At the time he was the Brewmaster for the Great Dane Pub and Brewing in Wausau. (Brewers are rich in quality of life, but not so much cash flow.) 

As he brainstormed with friends, he joked he could make moonshine. Then he realized…he could make moonshine. 

At the time, I was his girlfriend, and I humored his idea. As he dove further into researching his idea, I jumped on board. We met with the City of Wausau to secure an iconic location and sought classes in entrepreneurship and distilling.  Initially, we viewed the building and moved on, and it wasn’t until our second visit to the site that we were sold. The outbuilding had the perfect structure to house distilling equipment in a safe, effective manner. We bought the building on Oct. 6, 2017, got married on Oct. 28, 2017 and then spent our honeymoon the following week demolishing the interior to restore it to its original beauty.  Along with family and friends, we hauled out six dumpsters full of drywall, ceilings, office furniture and other pieces of the building that were hiding its original charm and beauty. The business then opened to the public in September 2018, after the restoration was complete and the distilling equipment was in place.

Q: How did you choose the name of your business? What are you trying to convey? 

Answer by Dan: In order to ensure we captured the theme of the iconic Milwaukee Road Train Depot, we began brainstorming critical positions on the railway. A “Timekeeper” was a critical part of the train logistics.

Q: Tell us more! What’s your specialty?

A: Timekeeper Distillery specializes in craft cocktails and mixology. Its true classification is a manufacturing and processing facility for alcohol. Dan manufactures his spirits with local, organic grain and ingredients and barrel ages his products on site. Timekeeper has a portfolio of hand crafted vodka, gin, rye whiskey and bourbon whiskey. We also produce our own canned seltzers in the form of WET Vodka Seltzer. They are made with Timekeeper Distillery’s vodka and all natural flavors that are created by Timekeeper Distillery with a leading industry partner.  WET Vodka Seltzer is 7.1% alcohol by volume, all natural, gluten free and free of high fructose corn syrup. Timekeeper Distillery also hosts events and has a four seasons patio that is pet-friendly. We have also expanded our food menu to include flatbreads and a range of small plates that pair well with our cocktails.

Q: What makes your business unique? What sets you apart? 

A: It starts with our iconic location, hand crafted cocktails and the innovation that we brought forward during the pandemic.  Some examples of how we pivoted quickly and innovated during COVID 19 are:

• Production of hand sanitizer
• Implementation of a 4 seasons, heated patio
• Introduction of pop up kitchens
• Expansion of our in house food menu
• Cocktails to go
• Creation of WET Vodka Seltzer

Q: What do you love most about your job? What drew you to this work?  

Dan: Being able to take an existing passion and set of skills and apply it to a new industry that was up and coming. The challenges of being a business owner and adapting through COVID has been something I have enjoyed as I have been continually motivated to do better and rise to the occasion.  

Kimm: I have really enjoyed supporting my husband’s passion and leveraging my influence and experience to help support him through this journey, ensuring our family feels the success of his passion.  

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing? 

A: Being able to weather the storm that is COVID and support the community in any way that we could.  For example, sanitizer was a community necessity but it also assisted us in maintaining jobs during COVID and pivoting our business in the necessary direction with new innovations to keep us relevant. 

Q: How have you changed and evolved over time? What’s different now from when you first started? 

A: Our business as an on premise craft cocktail lounge, specializing in experience has helped us pivot to an off premise competitor in the vodka seltzer market. Our reputation in what we do has assisted us in this transition and allowed us to gain loyalty from the community that purchases and enjoys our products. The biggest difference now from when we started is that we started with a five-drink menu, our only sales being what we served over the bar. It has since evolved into a multi faceted business that focuses two separate areas. The first is the on-premise experience you receive when you walk through the doors, sit down to enjoy a cocktail and purchase a bottle to go. The second is the off-premise aspect, where we have pivoted to sell our seltzers to retailers and market our products all over Wisconsin.  We have also expanded through collaboration with other local businesses through promotions and products (malt whiskey with breweries, brandy with wineries, and other spirits with local vineyards), cocktails to go, expansion of the food menu, our ready to drink seltzer portfolio, and event offerings. 

Q: What are your hopes and dreams for the future? Where do you see your business in five years? 10? 

A: We want to continue to be an instrumental part of this community.  We want to help non profits, community development, and make Wausau a more welcoming community for all.

Learn more: Watch Spirits 101 videos

Connect with Timekeeper Distillery:

Timekeeper Distillery: 720 Grant Street, Wausau

Phone: 715-679-3777

Facebook: Timekeeper Distillery

www.timekeeperdistillery.com