Jason McBrady, a longtime bartender who spent the past five years working at the Bremen Cafe in Riverwest, didn’t dream of owning a bar. It just kind of happened.
"It was one of those opportunities that popped up and the timing was right and ‘they’ let a person open a bar and so, it’s happening," says McBrady.
McBrady and coworkers will open High Dive in the former Impala Lounge and Riverhorse space at 701 E. Center St. The grand opening party is set for Saturday, Aug. 22, and includes live music by Sat. Nite Duets and The Rockbirds (featuring members of The Fatty Acids). There’s no cover and the show starts at 9 p.m.
"Bremen is a popular destination place for music and I want to carry that out here, too," says McBrady. "Basically, I see High Dive as a fun, casual, neighborhood bar with a lot of music."
High Dive will also promote the talents of local DJs as well as serve as a celebratory and networking space for community activist organizations. McBrady, a former union organizer, has already booked a fundraiser party next month for the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) and will host the FemFest after-party in January.
The bar's decor will continue to evolve, although McBrady does not have plans for new construction. He will soon refurbish the old Riverhorse sign to hang inside High Dive and is pleased to have scored the stage from Lakefront Brewery.
"It was a portion of their old polka stage," he says.
McBrady says a friend suggested the bar’s name. He immediately liked it and imagined the logo.
"People interpret the name to mean a play on words, like a ‘high class’ dive bar," he says. "I get that. It makes sense. But honestly, I just like the way it sounded after I had already kicked around a thousand names."
High Dive will offer a large selection of beer and booze. Although the space does not have a kitchen, pre-packaged snacks will be available.
McBrady says the most fulfilling aspect of bar ownership, so far, has been the outpouring of community support.
"I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of help I’ve received," he says. "This block is filled with some genuinely really good people."
High Dive will be open seven days a week from 4 p.m. to bar time. McBrady says he will be behind the bar daily from 4 to 9 p.m.
"I’ll work every day until something weird happens to me," he says.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
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