'The day is here!' Milwaukee bars and restaurants (some, definitely not all) gear up for reopening

Chris Foran
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

With the city of Milwaukee allowing bars and restaurants to reopen, with 25% occupancy, effective Friday afternoon, some — but by no means all — spots in the city are getting ready to serve. 

The city's first easing of restrictions on bars and restaurants after the lockdown to rein in the coronavirus pandemic was scheduled to go into effect at 2 p.m. Friday. Some bars are opening their doors ASAP.  

The Garage, 1709 N. Arlington Place, also planned a 2 p.m. start with detailed safety policies, according to a late-night Facebook post: 

"We understand there are many mixed feelings about places opening but we are ready for limited service. Our kitchen will not be open. We have new safety policies in place that are in compliance with CDC and city regulations. We are cleaned, sanitized and ready to serve you! We are limiting our capacity to 25%. We will have self-service at two designated bar areas — no servers — and will be monitoring indoor and outside tables for social distancing. The safety of our staff and guests takes top priority, and you can trust that our roaming cleaners, security staff and management will be there to make your experience safe and fun." 

Some Milwaukee patrons-in-waiting were eager to come back. 

Others, not so much. 

Some places are taking a day or two to get things in order before reopening, restocking and cleaning and re-allotting seating to accommodate 25% occupancy. Good City Brewing is opening its east side taproom at 2108 N. Farwell Ave. Saturday. 

Even Ma Fischer's, the venerable East Side 24-hour diner, is re-entering the dining field cautiously. 

Some planned to open Friday, but just their patios. In the Third Ward, Smoke Shack is reopening its patio tables but still having orders done online and by phone; patrons can pick up food at the restaurant and eat on the patio. 

But a lot of restaurants and bars say they won't reopen so quickly. Some cite the short turnaround (less than 24 hours from the order to the 2 p.m. reopening window); others said they weren't comfortable with opening so soon. Most are sticking with the delivery and curbside pickup service they switched to when the city ordered an end to in-restaurant dining in March.

Note: This will update.

Contact Chris Foran at chris.foran@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cforan12.