Trixie Mattel's Milwaukee Gay Bar, Oldest in Wisconsin, Closes
That was that for Wisconsin's venerable gay bar "This Is It!" which drag star Trixie Mattel bought in 2021. The historic establishment shuttered for good on March 9.
"This Is It! opened in 1968 and was one of the oldest LGBTQ+ bars in the country," said local newspaper the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"It was founded by June Brehm, who died in 2010, and her son, Joseph Brehm," the article continued. "Drag superstar and Wisconsin native Trixie Mattel became a co-owner with George Schneider in 2021, after seeing a number of gay bars close in Los Angeles during the pandemic and many others turn to GoFundMe to stay afloat."
Schneider, Out noted, "started working at This Is It! as a bartender in 2010 and acquired the bar in 2012." He had recently completed a project to expand the venue when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Only the intervention of Trixie Mattel, "who credited This Is It! as the first gay bar she visited after turning 21," Out detailed, "saved it from closing immediately."
But while Mattel's involvement delayed the inevitable, an eight-month closure of the street on which the bar was located posed a final, insurmountable hurdle, reports relayed.
"This is It! has been so much more than a nightlife spot for the queer community," the bar's official social media accounts declared in an announcement of the establishment's closure. "It has been a gathering place, a safe place, a second home, and the memories made at the bar will stay in our hearts forever."
"We want you to know that we did everything we could to keep our doors open for you," the post added, before signing off with: "It's with much sadness, but with so much love, we bid all of you farewell. Take care of each other, and please continue to support local and queer-owned businesses."
The bar was a crucial part of Milwaukee's LGBTQ+ community, Wisconsin Public Radio noted.
"Michail Takach, chair of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, said the space was a safe haven for many gay people who weren't welcome at other establishments at the time it opened," WPR detailed.
Takach told WPR that original owner June Brehm "opened a place to welcome and support her gay friends so that they didn't have to have terrible cocktails in the shadows. They could actually come to a place in the heart of downtown and be together and be supported and be welcome. And not have to hide."
The bar's closure came only months before it would have celebrated 57 years of continuous operation — one of the longest such stretches for a gay bar in the nation.
Indeed, WPR relayed, "Takach said Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project worked with other national partners to confirm that This Is It! was one of the 'top 10 oldest gay bars in the country.'"
Takach mused to WPR that under the current political regime, "we're going to learn real quick as places like This Is It! disappear, that we needed these places more than we thought and that we needed them all along, and that they had more of a meaning than just a place to get drinks or a place to hang out."
"There's a spiritual component there that once it's gone, it's gone," Takach added; "there's no getting it back."
Schneider took to social media with his own valedictory message, Out detailed, writing, "I don't know what's next for me.... After being so dedicated to something, it's difficult to conceive of what's next — but I remember that adversity rapidly reminds us of our strengths."
"Being so completely immersed in the bar and nightlife culture, I have forgotten many of those strengths, my accomplishments, and the experience that allowed me get where I am. I look forward to rediscovering these parts of me."
Schneider gave a shoutout to his staff, as well, writing: "Their worlds have been upended by the closure too, so please support them however you can."
In a subsequent post, Schneider elaborated more fully on the situation that had led to what seemed like an abrupt closure, Out went on to add.
"Ok... Here's the tea... There is none," he posted. "The money ran out. I closed suddenly because we needed to make sure we had enough money to pay the staff for the hours they worked, it would be terrible of me to continue to operate and THEN not pay the staff. That would've been irresponsible."
Schneider added that while he sank the entirety of his own finances into the bar, "I never asked Trixie to put any money in because I saw what happened when I put all of my money in, it temporarily created a cushion, but the problem did not go away."
He went on to add, "We never called for fundraising or alerted people that we were struggling because guess what people would've said: 'Trixie has money, make Trixie pay for it.' Again, that's not smart business practice. And we would've been dragged for asking for help, or at the very least ignored. Kind of a catch 22 situation."
In signing off, Schneider wrote: "You may not agree with how things went down, but I did what I had to do, and I did everything I could do. I will always cherish my years at This Is It!. This is the last I will say on the matter."
Out recalled that the bar was a setting for an episode of the reality series "Trixie Motel," with the drag icon herself "choos[ing] a 'Signature Pink Drink' for the Trixie Motel with the help of fellow 'Drag Race' winner (and also a Milwaukee, Wisconsin queen!) Jaida Essence Hall."