Greetings and Salutations,
Thursday is always a great day to unwind with a beer after a long week. Especially one that has been filled with snow, freezing rain, and 50 mph winds. This Thursday is going to be particularly great, as we are traveling BACK to Victor’s on Van Buren! Victor’s is known for its cocktail lounge feel and music that varies from 80’s pop to today’s top tracks, and we had a great time last year. You can’t forget about their fish fry either – it is one of the best in Milwaukee. Let’s brave the unusually cold weather and head out to Victor’s this Thursday for what is sure to be a great time!
As I sit here and stare out my window to what I wish would be green grass, full trees, and a beautiful bright blue sky, I see nothing but snow. As I try to wrap my head around why we are having a second winter, it reminds me of the last time Wisconsin was hit with a heavy snow in April. Let me take you back to April 8, 1973. Milwaukee was slammed with over 15 inches of snow and every business, bar, and restaurant was closed, except one. One bar on North Van Buren Street decided that a “little” snow was not going to stop them.
Victor’s lights were shining bright and Milwaukeeans started pouring in. The owner couldn’t believe the amount of people that were showing up. The dance floor was rocking, but with such a wide variety of people no one could compromise on the music. The older generation wanted swing music. The younger generation was calling out for Led Zeppelin. The owner didn’t know what to do.
As he sat behind the bar and contemplated, he poured himself an ice cold Old Milwaukee and threw it back. The moment that delicious beer hit his throat an idea came to him: “what if there was some type of mix tape that played all kinds of music?” He went to his office and pulled out a blank tape and a stereo and started to record all types of music. He threw on some Elvis, a little Jimi Hendrix, Sam Cooke, and Buddy Holly. The dance floor was shaking. You could hear the music down the streets and more and more people started piling in. It was that very moment that the mix tape was born and a bar on North Van Buren became legendary.
Get ready to get downnnn!
Cheers my friends!
Matty “Ice” Ruemler, Certified WTT Back-Up Writer for 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 week, The Squeaky Curd features a (generally) fictitious story of a Milwaukee County bar that we gather at on Thursday evening. Join us Thursday, April 19, 2018 at Victor’s 1230 N Van Buren St (East Town), at 7:30pm.*