EastSider Bar Grand Re-Opening

Milwaukee's cocktail swilling eastsiders were recently handed a holiday "buzz kill" with the temporary closing of The Eastsider. Located on the corner of Oakland and North Avenue, The Eastsider has been one of the area's most popular, lively bars whose sudden closure naturally surprised many locals.



With the paper covered windows and locked doors came countless rumors of the bars untimely demise. Luckily, for those that have enjoyed those Jagger fueled nights and bartender's antics, the bar will be reopening on Tuesday, January 5th.

According to owner, Jason Growel, the temporary closing was done to undertake some necessary remodeling and renovations that he had be putting off for some time. With family travel obligations over the holiday, the end of December seemed like the ideal time to make the bar changes. "There were a lot of things that we really needed to do, but I had been postponing it for quite a while. It just got to the point that I decided to do them all at once and get it over with."

Many of the changes to the venue will be apparent; new paint, carpeting, bathroom fixtures and lighting. Other updates are more "behind the scene". "In addition to all the things that someone might notice when we reopen, we also did a lot of work behind the bar and in the basement storage area to make things more functional" said Growel. At the end of the day, most people probably won't even notice half of what we did which is fine. We're still going to be that little bar that's made for drinking shots and partying"

While the revamped Eastsider will open in a few weeks, the bar originally debuted in 1999 with owner Nick Wenber. In 2006, upon hearing that Wenber was looking to sell the venue, Jason began assembling the necessary paperwork and financials to make an offer. The negotiations and processes took over a year, but Jason finally took ownership of the bar in November of 2007.

Other than installing neon lights in the windows and a new external sign, The Eastsider initially changed very little under Jason. "The one thing that I always heard about the bar before taking it over was you couldn't tell when the bar was open. The way the building is situated and the darkened windows make it hard to see inside sometimes. I replaced the wooden Eastsider sign that hung outside over the door with a nice, big neon and added some other neons to the inside windows. With all those lit up, you know we're open."

The Eastsider's limited capacity of 70 is actually a positive note according to Jason. "When you're in here with us, you're part of the 'show'. We may be small, but we make up for that by consistently throwing the best party on the eastside. Myself and the other bartenders make a point of making everyone feel welcomed and making sure that they leave having had a great time with us."

In keeping with the past, the bar will continue their nightly specials while adding in some new deals and events. "We're working with the various beer and liquor reps, friends and others to set up some really good deals and promos" said Growel. "On a nightly basis, we usually have two or three specials running already. Along with the specials, I'm going to be doing some events and promotions with some of the better brands moving forward."

A few dollars will get you plenty of drink any night at The Eastsider. The current nightly specials are as follows:
Monday - Service Industry Night with half off all drinks and beers
Tuesday - $2 Martinis all night
Wednesday - $3 custom Long Islands
Thursday - $1 Jagger Bombs and Cherry Bombs
Friday - $3 Captain Morgan drinks and $2 Snake Bites
Saturday - $3 Bacardi drinks
Sunday - $1 Tall Captain Morgan drinks

From a special event angle, Jason has a couple of things already laid out for January. "Of course we have the reopening on January 5th, so we want to rock that hard. We are going to have the standard $2 Martinis, but also starting at 5PM, we'll be signing up people to win prizes and bar tabs that night. At 9PM, we'll start $1 Jagger shots as well. It's going to be a killer Tuesday night and a rough Wednesday morning for some of us", said Jason laughing.

Later in the month, on Friday, January 22nd, The Eastsider will be celebrating the belated birthday of Elvis Presley with a day long event. "We had originally planned to do a birthday party for Elvis on his actual birthday which is January 8th, but with the remodeling, we didn't have time to get all the pieces in place. We liked the idea, so decided we'd just move the party to later in the month. We figured, he's dead, so he won't mind and it will give us time to get all the work done for the party."

Working with Shepherd Express, Budweiser, Jamesons and Toppers Pizza, it will be an action packed evening. "Starting at 3PM that day, we'll have $2 Jameson shots and $2.50 Bud products for drink specials. The first 50 people will get complimentary Elvis sunglasses. Starting at 5PM, we'll have free pizza from Toppers while it lasts. At about 8 or so, we will have a custom Elvis birthday cake delivered for everyone too. Along with all that there will be some Elvis themed prizes. It shaping up to be an awesome birthday for 'The King'" said Growel.

Welcome back Eastsider!
Written by Todd Hall: Inferno Marketing