E-Cigarette Business Blossoms For Muskego Residents

Julie Deutsch and Susanna Ryan, sisters who live just down the street from each other in Muskego, had a long personal history with smoking before they were introduced to electric cigarettes more than a year ago. 

The fascination started immediately. Here was a product that functioned just like a cigarette, only without any of the smoke, tar, ash and odor. Powered by batteries, e-cigarettes produce a vapor that looks like real smoke and simulates the hand-to-mouth motions of cigarettes. 


"We were just amazed by how cool it was," Ryan said. 

As they experimented with different brands and flavors, they were "finding a lot of junk" and companies that overcharged for their products, Ryan said. 

But already fully engulfed in a passion for e-cigarettes, they decided to develop their own products. 

The sisters launched Brew City Vape out of their homes and sold e-cigarettes online. Mostly through word-of-mouth, the business blossomed, and on Saturday they will open a store in Wind Lake. 

"We decided to go into business ourselves to get people a great product at a better price," Ryan said. "It snowballed from there."

Smoking is personal for them
Deutsch and Ryan weren't just seizing on an idea to make money off a trendy product. The two have a history with cigarettes' devastating effects.

Both were smokers years ago and gave it up after Deutsch's first husband died of lung cancer. But they battled depression as the smoking "bug" never really left and they were tempted to use cigarettes to help deal with their problems.

That's when Ryan's husband suggested trying an e-cigarette, which have caught on recently as a means to quit smoking. 

Ryan and her sister's passion for the products soon followed. One huge advantage of e-cigarettes, Ryan said, is the hand-to-mouth motion that simulates smoking. 

What to do with one's hands is one of the hardest things for ex-smokers to deal with, Ryan said. 

"It's not the smoke they are craving," she said. 

The e-cigarette has its detractors, who point out the products contain nicotine, which can lead to or further addiction issues. The Food and Drug Administration says "the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes have not been fully studied."

Brew City Vape says on its website the products should not be used by people under 18, pregnant women or breastfeeding women, or people with certain medical issues. 

Ryan points out that Brew City Vape offers e-cigarettes without nicotine, and said the difference between some 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes compared to three components of e-cigs is huge.

Brew City Vape an instant success

Deutsch and Ryan started offering their products to family members and were amazed by the results. 

Deutsch's husband, for example, used to smoke two-and-a-half packs a day. He hasn't smoke a cigarette since. 

"It truly works," Ryan said. 

Word of their success spread to others who wanted to try them out. Those customers then referred other people to Brew City Vape. 

Ryan said what sets their business apart from the others is the cost, the number of flavors—which range from cherry, to coffee, to menthol—and the ability to sample the product before buying it. 

With many customers wanting to sample, Deutsch and Ryan realized they needed a store to better accommodate them. 

A grand opening for the Wind Lake store, 26481 Fries Lane, is scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14.

The store, transformed from a former tanning salon, features a bar with stools around it in which customers can try the e-cigs. 

The store also gives customers the ability to order products online and pick them up, thus avoiding shipping costs, Ryan said. 

The sisters say they are excited to open the store, believed to be the first of its kind in the Milwaukee area. 

It will only extend what's been a fulfilling business venture so far. 

"Having seen it first hand with my sister’s husband passing away, it hit us personally," Ryan said. "It's just amazing to see all these friends of ours quit smoking."