Wisconsin’s oldest gay bar has closed

This Is It, the oldest LGBTQ+ bar in Wisconsin, has closed its doors for good. Here’s why the business couldn’t survive. 

This Is It, located at 418 E Wells Street in Milwaukee, has officially closed. In a Facebook post on March 9, the establishment wrote: “This summer would have been the 57th anniversary of This is It!. Unfortunately, that celebration will not come to pass. As of today, we have closed our doors permanently. The COVID crisis and the years following 2020, coupled with the 8 month closure of our street and sidewalk last year, put the business in a position that we could not ultimately overcome.”

The business—which was co-owned by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star and Wisconsin native Trixie Mattel—went on to thank its staff as well as the wider community and patrons.”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.”

Reactions from the community 

The announcement brought a mix of emotions, with one user commenting, “extremely disappointing, not even giving the general public a heads up or a chance to fundraise or visit for a last time. this is it is kind of a big deal for the LGBT community and i’m sure there would have been potential buyers to keep the business open, but instead one facebook post announcing the closure is all everyone gets. shame.”

While many expressed disappointment and confusion over the seemingly abrupt closure, others shared their memories of the beloved bar. “I’ve never been to a place where I feel not only safe, I feel free and comfortable to be myself,” one user wrote, while another said “As a neighbor patron from Chicago, I have so many beautiful memories there and had truly hoped to make many more. Sending much love to everyone at This Is It, and so much to the Milwaukee community who will miss it so much- I know I will.”

The History of This Is It

According to Wisconsin Public Radio, suburban mother June Brehm opened the bar in 1968, making it the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the state and among the ten oldest in the country.

A statement from the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project listed some of the historic happenings at the site, including “the nondiscrimination ordinance of 1980, the Gay Rights Law of 1982, the 1st Annual Pride March and Rally of 1989, Tammy Baldwin’s election in 1998, local marriage equality in 2014 and national marriage equality in 2015, even the bar’s own 50th anniversary in 2018.” In 2018, the bar “led a citywide effort to install the state’s first rainbow crosswalks” and opened Milwaukee’s sole permanent Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project exhibit.

“If you still think ‘we don’t need gay bars anymore,’ you’re in for a surprise,” said Michail Takach, chair of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project. “In the weeks, months, and years ahead, we’re all going to learn the hard way how much the world needed spaces like This Is It:  then, now, and always.”

With the closure of This Is It, there are now only seven surviving gay bars in Milwaukee: Walker’s Pint, Woody’s, Fluid, Harbor Room, Kruz, Pop, and La Cage. Established in 1983, Napalese Lounge in Green Bay now holds the title of oldest gay bar in the state.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.