UPDATE:
Sources who know the owner, Mr. Bobby Head, say the space is "temporarily" closed. I'll continue to update the story as I get more information.
At 9:30 p.m. Friday evening, one of Milwaukee's hottest nightspots, Soho 7, was vacant. No lines and no DJ. Doors closed, for lease sign on the side of the building and when we tried to call the phone number -- no answer.
Indeed, it appears that Soho 7, 231 E. Buffalo St. is closed.
2008's "fashionable addition" to the Historic Third Ward, Soho 7 was a cool and popular lounge, and a transformation of a former furniture store. For what it's worth, I liked the place and always had a good time there.
Bobby Head, a former owner of Water Street's swanky Centanni Piano Bar, conceived the idea for Soho 7, and as OnMilwaukee.com's Julie Lawrence wrote in 2008 "clearly spared no expense on this latest endeavor, which he explains as "New York-conceived, Miami-nourished and Milwaukee-born."
I've attempted to call Soho 7 several times, sent e-mail and Facebook messages. None were returned.
Several people have said they heard Soho 7 was closed/closing, and while I don't have confirmation from Mr. Head the "for lease" sign is an ominous sign. I did, by the way, leave a message at the phone numbers on the sign. No return call yet, but I did get an e-mail that read "No answers for you but 2189 square feet at $12.00/square foot equates to $2,189.00/month for 'rent.' That would seem to me to be absurdly cheap for this finished space."
If it's over, rest in peace - you'll be missed. If it's not, hopefully someone will get back to me, we'll report the full story right here on OnMilwaukee.com and there will be time for another cocktail, or two, at Soho 7.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
