The Victory Café triumphantly returns after a devastating fire

By Alesia Mayfield, Eastside News

The power of community has welcomed back a business that had suffered a tragedy. The Victory Café, 2710 Atwood Ave., was damaged by fire Sept. 15, 2024. The suspected cause of the fire was electrical. The damage was extensive, requiring a 10-month rehabilitation. The Victory finally reopened July 12.

Since the reopening, owner Patrick Downey said that business has been great, with regular customers back and new customers are coming in.

“(It’s) busier than ever, a pleasant surprise,” he said.

The long process to rehab the space was challenging, Downey said. A lot of structural issues had to be addressed, some of which predated the fire and were fixed during the reconstruction. In addition to insurance paying for repairs, Downey launched a successful GoFundMe campaign where donors showed their support. He was touched by the overwhelming response.

Downey wanted to rebuild the space exactly the way it was before the fire, which was one reason the rehabilitation took a long time. The “new” Victory has the same tin ceiling, paint color, wooden floors and diamond motif as the “old” Victory. The only difference is a large deli case that customers will see upon entering the premises.

Downey opened The Victory in 2010 after spending many years living in New York City. There was a small successful coffee shop in Brooklyn called Victory that was a neighborhood favorite. It was featured in The New York Times and New York page of the web news site “Time Out.” Downey and his wife moved to Madison to start a family and opened The Victory to bring Brooklyn with him. His wife has relatives in the area.

Brooklyn and Madison’s east side are similar because they have “neighborhoods stitched into a big city,” he said.

Downey chose the Atwood location because he wanted his little neighborhood coffee shop with really good sandwiches to be in a neighborhood where his family lived and wanted to be part of the community.

“(The) goal was to have a place that I would like to go where I can hang out … being part of the community and part of the neighborhood,” Downey said.

The café offers paninis, tuna melts, smoked salmon, baked goods — and of course coffee.

“Any really good coffee shop has pour over coffee,” Downey said. “If you’re not in a hurry, it’s great.”

Local vendors provide the coffee and bakery items. The Victory is a rarity in Madison in that it is open seven days a week. The café serves breakfast and lunch weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Click here for more information or to view the menu.