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October 2025 by Kira Sabin
I hosted a retreat recently at Local Motive, and it was absolutely perfect.
The space itself is beautiful and comfortable (which is weirdly hard to find) plus it's full of character and history. It really makes the space feel special.
But what truly made the experience stand out was Prasanna. He was an incredible host & throughout the entire process...kind, responsive, flexible, and genuinely invested in helping make the retreat a success.
Every detail was handled with care, and Prasanna went above and beyond to make sure everything flowed smoothly. My group kept commenting on how welcoming and inspiring the space felt. It set the perfect tone for connection, creativity, and reflection.
If you’re looking for a Madison event space with great energy and an owner who truly cares, I can’t recommend Local Motive (and Prasanna!) enough.
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September 2025 by Lance Green
Peaceful fun atmosphere!
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August 2025 by Flavia Costa
Beautiful lounge, loved seeing the appreciation and preservation of the train car history. The cocktails were wonderfully affordable and delicious as well!
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August 2024 by John Manzer
The staff were very professional and great to work with. We had a wonderful event with many folks complimenting us on the venue, the cocktails, etc. it was a great way to celebrate a 60th birthday!
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August 2024 by James “Jamie” Montgomery
This was a birthday party. Really. I thought it would be more like a dining car. But now it's just a train, an empty train with chairs sofas and such at least in the half that we were in
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July 2024 by Catherine Woodward
Such a unique place for great cocktails, in a train car! Vintage furniture and old photos of Madison decorate this old train car, and Wes and Brian serve up excellent cocktails...anything you want. Not your run of the mill bar. A great place for a date, or special occasions, or just a drink on a Saturday night. Only open on weekends, and don't serve any food. I told them they oughta have some snacks to go with the delicious cocktails. (Also a good selection of mocktails). You must check out this unique Madison bar!
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June 2024 by Ewa Zarnowska
Hi Prasana, Thanks for hosting us yesterday. I have heard only good things from my guests about your venue. Everyone appreciated coziness and friendliness of the place. Everyone appreciated cocktails! We had fantastic time. I recommend the place with no reservation. Regards,
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June 2024 by Sophia Salemi
Rented out for graduation party with family and friends of UW-Madison grads. It was a great place for us all to meet up after all the ceremonies! We were able to cater any food we wanted (they provide great recommendations of past catering they have worked with also) and the drink list they provide at the bar was perfect for our group. They took cash and card at the bar and even offered to order us a keg if we were interested. There was nice options for indoor and outdoor seating (patio covered). They had bluetooth for music, LED lights, and a TV to airplay pictures/videos of the grads. Overall it was a perfect place for our group and would recommend! The flexibility of ordering at the bar and being able to cater from anywhere allowed to be as fancy/expensive or chill/inexpensive as we wanted! Prasanna was extremely communicative from time of touring the space, in months prior to the event, day of, and following up after the event!
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May 2024 by Veronica Stargazer
Wonderful venue and great staff. Had a little wedding ceremony here and it was everything I could have hoped for. Thank you so much!
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May 2024 by Margaret Barnas
The team at local motive is awesome to work with and all of our guests loved the unique event space. Would definitely go back in the future!
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April 2024 by FemiBoom
I had a great experience with Local Motive. The event staff were very helpful and responsive, and the bartenders were nice, accommodating, and made great drinks!
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April 2024 by Susan McKay
Cocktail menu is so good! The venue had a lot of our friends talking with all of the old photos of the trains in Madison and how cool that was. It is nice that you allow us to bring in food for a small event. Staff is very patient and super nice to work with. Had a great event and would recommend to anyone.
Susan
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April 2024 by Nicole Engerman
Was a cute, quaint, place!! They were amazing to us behind bar!
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April 2024 by Kirstie Easley
We hosted a team gathering at Local Motive, and it was a total hit! We had about 24 people and kept the space open, while using the exisiting lounge furniture and it was intimate and nice for conversation. The drinks at the bar were delicious, and overall, we had a wonderful time in a unique setting.
Thank you for the great hospitality!
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April 2024 by Stephanie Langlois
I'm honestly surprised they currently have such high ratings... maybe we came at a bad night, but the bar was such a mess and the drinks weren't great. They used soda from 2 liter bottles and our drinks were totally flat... zero carbonation. I was watching the 2 bartenders while waiting to put my drink order in and the amount of contamination happening behind the bar is so concerning. The woman who made my drink dropped a knife on the floor, picked it up, put it in a tiny sink in the corner, wiped her hands on her pants, and then continued to touch garnishes that were being put in people's drinks. She was constantly readjusting a scarf that was around her neck, then continued to prep garnishes without any sort of hand washing. I understand all garnishes behind a bar are typically not handled with gloves, but with how nice this place is supposed to be I was just shocked at how little they cared about contaminating everything behind the bar. Aside from that, the place is incredibly small, and it's near impossible to get up to the bar to get the bartenders' attention for a drink.
