At first blush, the terms “contemporary” and “sports bar” seem rather oxymoronic.
When you think of a classic sports bar, you probably envision a smoke-filled old dive with framed jerseys and pennants on the wall, peanut shells and chicken wing shrapnel on the floor, ticket stubs lacquered to the tabletops and pages from the newspaper sports section clamped over the urinals. (Well, male readers may form that mental picture).
You picture a grizzled proprietor with a potbelly, a head full of trivia and a cache of hard-to-get tickets for the big game. You picture bartenders in referee’s shirts filling pitchers as fast as the taps allow or waitresses in halter tops, orange polyester shorts and pantyhose schlepping mugs of suds to patrons, some of whom glance furtively while others openly gawk and salivate.
These are the characteristics that draw sports fans out of their cave-like “man rooms” and into the public. For a generation, the idea of “dressing up” to go to a sports bar means putting on a clean pair of sweat pants to wear with your favorite team’s jersey (which may or may not have been laundered since the last big game).
Mike Zimmer has been to places like this and enjoyed himself tremendously. He has nothing against the “classic” sports bars.
He just didn’t want to own one.
Zimmer, a Wauwatosa native and Downtown resident who spent 15 years working for Johnson Controls, wanted to create a more upscale atmosphere for his establishment, Zim’s, which is located at 770 N. Milwaukee St.
Located in the space formerly occupied by the Michael Lord Gallery and renovated by Quorum Architects, Zim’s features gleaming hardwood floors, 10 high-definition plasma TVs and two 106-inch projection screens that broadcast a variety of sporting events via subscriptions to NFL Sunday Ticket, College Gameday, NBA League Pass, and NHL Center Ice.
"The idea is a sports and entertainment experience," Zimmer says. "The place to watch the game, (with) entertainment all the time."
Although there were a few hiccups that delayed the bar’s anticipated July opening and the kitchen won’t debut until January (carry-ins are allowed in the interim), things have been running relatively smoothly since the doors opened Oct. 2, which happened to coincide with the Packers’ appearance on “Monday Night Football.”
Business has been brisk on Thursday through Saturday nights, when the place fills with well-heeled patrons in the 25 to 45 age range who want to relax, drink, converse and watch sports on TV.
Although there are some diehard fans (many from nearby hotels) intently watching almost every game (tables and couches can be reserved in advance), the sporting events on TV almost serve as a backdrop in the sleek, modern space.
Rather than stick with the jerseys, pennants and schedules motif, Zimmer decorated the walls with classy black and white photos from the Packers, Bucks, Brewers, Badgers and Marquette.
Zim’s offers more than a dozen domestic beers and imports, with Stella Artois, Spaten and Spotted Cow on tap, but also offers a solid wine list, several signature martinis, Rehorst Premium Milwaukee vodka and a special-recipe Bloody Mary that has been popular with the football crowd.
First-time visitors, particularly those who enjoy an adult beverage or two, may want to heed a warning from the bar’s Web site. It seems that the building once served as a carriage house for many of the horse-drawn carriages downtown. Because the floor needed cleaning at the end of the day, it slopes roughly six inches from one end of the room to the other.
While that feature may make for some clumsy hugs at closing time, it also gives the bar character. That -- along with unfettered sightlines to a TV -- is what most fans really want in a sports bar.
When you think of a classic sports bar, you probably envision a smoke-filled old dive with framed jerseys and pennants on the wall, peanut shells and chicken wing shrapnel on the floor, ticket stubs lacquered to the tabletops and pages from the newspaper sports section clamped over the urinals. (Well, male readers may form that mental picture).
You picture a grizzled proprietor with a potbelly, a head full of trivia and a cache of hard-to-get tickets for the big game. You picture bartenders in referee’s shirts filling pitchers as fast as the taps allow or waitresses in halter tops, orange polyester shorts and pantyhose schlepping mugs of suds to patrons, some of whom glance furtively while others openly gawk and salivate.
These are the characteristics that draw sports fans out of their cave-like “man rooms” and into the public. For a generation, the idea of “dressing up” to go to a sports bar means putting on a clean pair of sweat pants to wear with your favorite team’s jersey (which may or may not have been laundered since the last big game).
Mike Zimmer has been to places like this and enjoyed himself tremendously. He has nothing against the “classic” sports bars.
He just didn’t want to own one.
Zimmer, a Wauwatosa native and Downtown resident who spent 15 years working for Johnson Controls, wanted to create a more upscale atmosphere for his establishment, Zim’s, which is located at 770 N. Milwaukee St.
Located in the space formerly occupied by the Michael Lord Gallery and renovated by Quorum Architects, Zim’s features gleaming hardwood floors, 10 high-definition plasma TVs and two 106-inch projection screens that broadcast a variety of sporting events via subscriptions to NFL Sunday Ticket, College Gameday, NBA League Pass, and NHL Center Ice.
"The idea is a sports and entertainment experience," Zimmer says. "The place to watch the game, (with) entertainment all the time."
Although there were a few hiccups that delayed the bar’s anticipated July opening and the kitchen won’t debut until January (carry-ins are allowed in the interim), things have been running relatively smoothly since the doors opened Oct. 2, which happened to coincide with the Packers’ appearance on “Monday Night Football.”
Business has been brisk on Thursday through Saturday nights, when the place fills with well-heeled patrons in the 25 to 45 age range who want to relax, drink, converse and watch sports on TV.
Although there are some diehard fans (many from nearby hotels) intently watching almost every game (tables and couches can be reserved in advance), the sporting events on TV almost serve as a backdrop in the sleek, modern space.
Rather than stick with the jerseys, pennants and schedules motif, Zimmer decorated the walls with classy black and white photos from the Packers, Bucks, Brewers, Badgers and Marquette.
Zim’s offers more than a dozen domestic beers and imports, with Stella Artois, Spaten and Spotted Cow on tap, but also offers a solid wine list, several signature martinis, Rehorst Premium Milwaukee vodka and a special-recipe Bloody Mary that has been popular with the football crowd.
First-time visitors, particularly those who enjoy an adult beverage or two, may want to heed a warning from the bar’s Web site. It seems that the building once served as a carriage house for many of the horse-drawn carriages downtown. Because the floor needed cleaning at the end of the day, it slopes roughly six inches from one end of the room to the other.
While that feature may make for some clumsy hugs at closing time, it also gives the bar character. That -- along with unfettered sightlines to a TV -- is what most fans really want in a sports bar.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
