The site of the Cactus Club was a bar since at least the early 1900s, Uecke told the Journal Sentinel. "I think it might have brought younger people into the neighborhood who were looking to rent or buy a house somewhere in Milwaukee and became familiar with Bay View," Uecke said. When it turned into a local music venue, the only cultural spots in the area were Rush-Mor Records and the Hi-Fi Cafe, said former bartender Chris Schulist, who helped open another Bay View hot spot, the Vanguard, in 2014. It became an entertainment destination for Bay View, a neighborhood that's blossomed over the years to one of the premier dining and nightlife areas of the city. … I don't think anyone will be super anxious to get in a crowded room, understandably so."įrom anarchists' hangout to cultural hot spotįrom the street, it doesn't look like much - another corner bar in a city filled with them.īut the Cactus Club, at 2496 S. "I'm getting (concert) cancellations into August and September right now. "I don't necessarily have a plan once July hits," Kaufmann told the Journal Sentinel Monday. That's short of the $16,000 goal, which would cover mortgage and insurance payments through June and help employees out of work. ( Cactus Club's Instagram page will feature six sets on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m.) More than $13,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe campaign launched by employee Anika Kowalik. Phase one wouldn't begin until there are 14 days of consecutive declines of new coronavirus cases in the state.Ĭactus Club is closed, but people have been rallying to prevent it from closing forever.įorward Music Festival, streaming Friday through Sunday, is trying to raise money for the club and struggling local venues the Cooperage and X-Ray Arcade in Cudahy. Under Evers' "Badger Bounce Back Plan" announced Monday, gatherings of up to 50 people could be permitted, and bars could reopen with social distancing restrictions, under phase two. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers' current safer-at-home order will keep businesses shuttered through at least May 26, but Cactus Club likely won't open by then. By no means am I rushing to end the quarantine or end social distancing." "As much as we’re struggling, the absolute focus should be public health. "Devastating is a word for it," Kaufmann said. The coronavirus pandemic has forced bars and music venues across Wisconsin and the world to shut down to mitigate the spread. "She's the perfect person to continue to carry the torch," said Eric Uecke, who bought the Cactus Club in 1996 and turned it into a music venue.
Shows ballooned to 200 a year, and she led a successful campaign to change city laws so small Milwaukee venues could host all-ages shows without being forced to lock up their liquor, any venue's primary source of revenue. With Kaufmann at the helm, the Cactus Club had an even bigger impact. Share Your Story: We want to talk to doctors, nurses and others affected by coronavirus Live Updates: The latest on coronavirus in Wisconsinĭaily Digest: What you need to know about coronavirus in Wisconsin It's hosted more local artists than any other venue operating in the city, and several seminal bands played its tiny stage before blowing up - the White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age and Death Cab for Cutie among them. The Bay View bar was already one of the most storied music venues in Milwaukee. In 2016, she became the manager of the Cactus Club, five years after she first bartended there. Kaufmann, 30, has been booking shows and playing in bands since she was in sixth grade.
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