Reopening now within reach for Punch Bowl Social in the Deer District, following legal settlement

Mar 11, 2022 2:57 pm

Bucks home opener-21-101921-MMeyer. — Punch Bowl Social is slated to reopen soon after more than a year.

Last updated Mar 14, 2022 1:22 pm

With a lengthy legal dispute finally over, Punch Bowl Social is one step closer to reopening in downtown Milwaukee’s Deer District. The location’s current operator, New Punch Bowl LLC, announced Friday it has reached a settlement agreement with former operator Eatertainment Milwaukee LLC in a bankruptcy case centered on the ownership of equipment, fixtures and furniture

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With a lengthy legal dispute finally over, Punch Bowl Social is one step closer to reopening in downtown Milwaukee's Deer District. The location's current operator, New Punch Bowl LLC, announced Friday it has reached a settlement agreement with former operator Eatertainment Milwaukee LLC in a bankruptcy case centered on the ownership of equipment, fixtures and furniture left inside the 24,500-square-foot building upon Punch Bowl's closure almost two years ago. "This settlement resolves any and all outstanding legal matters surrounding the location’s assets and provides a clear path forward for the location to resume operations under the ownership of New Punch Bowl Milwaukee, LLC," said New Punch Bowl Milwaukee, LLC and its lender Sortis Holdings Inc. in a joint statement Friday. But the question remains: When exactly will Punch Bowl Social reopen its doors to the public? New Punch Bowl says those details are forthcoming. The entertainment-restaurant concept had been slated to reopen Oct. 29, as the chain's last location to resume operations in the wake of pandemic-driven shut downs and its parent company's bankruptcy. Punch Bowl was sold out of bankruptcy last year to its lender and now-current owner, Texas-based CrowdOut Capital. In July, New Punch Bowl Milwaukee LLC, an affiliate of CrowdOut Capital, struck a lease deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, who own the 24,500-square-foot space and the rest of the buildings in the Deer District's entertainment block, to take over the fully furnished venue. But former operator Eatertainment Milwaukee LLC, formerly known as Punch Bowl Milwaukee LLC, claimed the property it had left inside the building belonged to them. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, suing New Punch Bowl and the Bucks. The Bucks declined to comment for this story. As a result on the ongoing dispute, the venue has to sat lifeless for months, missing out on a huge opportunity for business when massive crowds packed Fiserv Forum and the Deer District during the Bucks’ run to the NBA championship last year. A judge determined that Eatertainment did not technically "abandon" the property and therefore maintained ownership of anything deemed personal property, including handheld radios, computers, and speakers, smallware, movable chairs, foosball tables, and the like. Meanwhile, items that couldn’t be removed “without material damage” were deemed fixtures and remained at the building. That includes the kitchen’s exhaust hood, all three bars and foot railings, bowling alleys, pin setters, and bowling shoe cage, as well as bolted-down tables, the stairwell and built-in furniture and appliances.

Reopening now within reach for Punch Bowl Social in the Deer District, following legal settlement

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