Downtown Milwaukee LGBTQ bar This Is It! closed permanently on Sunday after nearly 57 years in business. Growing maintenance and labor costs and an extended street closure restricting bar traffic forced the business into financial distress, finally closing its doors abruptly, according to general manager Darnell Watson.
On Sunday, March 9, the bar, located at 418 E. Wells St., released a message across all of its social media platforms explaining that the reason for its closure was the “COVID crisis and the years following 2020, coupled with the eight-month closure of its street and sidewalk.”
“Many people don’t know that in 2022, we were doing fairly well,” Watson said. “We were still recovering from COVID, but we were at least open and back to full capacity with a lot of hope that we would make it.”
After reopening post-COVID, This Is It! management decided to remodel several areas of the bar including the restrooms, the basement and the air conditioning system. While under construction, This Is It! staff were notified by the City of Milwaukee that the portion of Wells Street where the bar resided would be closed indefinitely for construction, a closure that would last eight months spanning all of This Is It!’s peak season. Although owner George Schneider spoke with city officials and project managers several times, the business was not given a timeline for the street construction project, according to Watson.
“We barely had a sidewalk in front of our door for months,” Watson said. “We looked closed, the street looked vacant, and it became really hard to bring people out.”
This Is It! was not able to open its outdoor patio portion in the summer of 2024 due to construction.
A lack of parking and foot traffic, paired with looming construction costs worsened the bar’s financial struggles, forcing more cuts in labor and utility costs. The bar also started reducing the frequency and size of its shows.
“It’s unfortunate because, as management, we couldn’t just keep pouring money into a black hole,” Watson said.
When the renovations were complete, Schneider had “drained his savings, giving all that he could from his own pockets,” Watson said. This Is It! was reportedly receiving discounts from the building owner, Van Buren Management, all the while in lieu of its struggles.
Co-owner Brian Firkus, a popular drag star that goes by the name Trixie Mattel, joined the ownership team in 2021 and is now facing backlash online after the closure announcement.
Several comments on Mattel’s Instagram criticize her for her lack of acknowledgment of the closure. Mattel uploaded an Instagram story on her account regarding the closure that was active for 24 hours.
“It’s hard to come to terms with This Is It! being gone,” Mattel said in her post. “From my first drink ever, to becoming a co-owner as we tried to weather the pandemic, to so many shows over the years, I have had some very special memories there. My heart is with Milwaukee and all of the wonderful, fabulous people who both worked and enjoyed going there.”
Several bargoers were unsatisfied with the post.
“This Is It! deserved a proper goodbye, you know it and I know it,” a comment read.
“It’s embarrassing how little you care about your own community in Milwaukee,” another read.
This Is It! has no plans to reopen, Watson said.
“I won’t speak on Trixie, but I know (Schneider) probably doesn’t have the financial capacity to reopen at the moment,” Watson said.
Representatives from Van Buren Management did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of the space on Wells Street.
