Greetings and Salutations,
It’s surprising that Welcome to Thursdays has taken this long, but this week we are finally traveling to the The Garage. We have stopped at some quintessential establishments on Brady, and now we find ourselves traveling to one of the very first bars I ever went to in Milwaukee! I’ll never forget going with my co-founder Kyle and established WTT member Annie to get the dollar mystery bag special. A lot has changed since then; a remodel and one heck of a tap list have given the Garage its own identity. I also hear that the food is spectacular, so with a great atmosphere and a stellar patio, it should provide the Thursdays crew with the ingredients to make this Thursday one to not miss! I know what everyone is thinking though, why the heck is it called the Garage? Well, after months of extensive research, I have found the answers.
Besides actually being a garage, many do not know the story behind this famous Milwaukee establishment. At one point, it was the epicenter for the prestigious and legendary Old Milwaukee Racing team. Yes, back in the 80s, Old Milwaukee owned every race circuit you could possibly think of. Rumor is, a local Milwaukee scientist discovered that adding a specific amount of Old Milwaukee to an engine not only caused it to burn cleaner and longer, but the cars just naturally went faster.
The team needed a place where they could apply the beer in secret, and obviously the Garage was the perfect fit. For years, Old Mil’ race cars came and went without any question and brought home all sorts of hardware, winning in all circuits of racing until other drivers were finally so fed up with losing that they called for an inspection of the cars. With the discovery of Old Mil’, a new rule was immediately put into place: “no car shall use PEBs (Performance Enhancing Beers) during a race, and failure to comply will result in immediate disqualification”. With this new rule, the Garage was left with a massive amount of Old Milwaukee. So they did the only logical thing and re-established themselves as a local watering hole for Milwaukee. The rest is history.
Cheers!
Your Co-founder and Friend,
Jeremy Blandin
*Keeping your glass filled and spirits high one Thursday at a time, this is Welcome to Thursdays: a local social group determined to make your Thursdays more fun. Each Wednesday, The Squeaky Curd features a fictitious history of a Milwaukee County bar that we gather at on Thursday evening. Join us this Thursday, June 29, 2017 at The Garage located at 1701 N. Arlington Place (Brady Street) at 7:30pm.*