Longtime downtown Milwaukee nightclub
Victor’s remains on the market after a recent purchase agreement fell through.
The business and property at 1230 N. Van Buren St. have been
for sale since March,
publicly listed for $1.9 million. As of late May, Victor's was under contract to be sold to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed price, but that deal is now off, according to
Vic Jones, who has operated the bar and dance hall for the past 25 years.
Victor's remains open and for sale, currently with no other prospective buyers, said Jones, the youngest son of the late Victor Jones, who opened Victor’s in the 1960s.
Jones said "business has dropped off" in recent months likely because patrons assumed the business had already sold.
"I want to get the word out that we're not sold, that we're going to continue to be open," he said.
Victor's pending sale initially sparked some conflict between the seven Jones siblings, many of whom were involved in the bar’s day-to-day operations for periods of time over the years. Victor Jones died in 2021 at the age of 91, leaving sole ownership of the business to his wife, Mary Ann Jones, who is 94.
Without a succession plan in place, the business was ultimately put on the market, marking a likely end to six decades of family ownership.
As the only family members who still work in the business, Vic and his three brothers had put together a proposal (not the proposal that was under contract to an undisclosed buyer in May) to purchase the business and building themselves but negotiations ultimately fell through, said Vic Jones.
Now, his biggest hope is that his family's business sells for the best price possible -- no matter how long that might take.
"If we get our price, I think everybody is going to be happy to sell it," he said.
