{"id":235818,"date":"2025-03-12T16:39:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T05:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.starobserver.com.au\/?p=235818"},"modified":"2025-03-13T09:37:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T22:37:35","slug":"wisconsins-oldest-gay-bar-co-owned-by-trixie-mattel-closes-after-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.starobserver.com.au\/news\/wisconsins-oldest-gay-bar-co-owned-by-trixie-mattel-closes-after-50-years\/235818","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin’s Oldest Gay Bar, Co-Owned By Trixie Mattel, Closes After 50+ Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
Wisconsin’s oldest gay bar, This is It!,<\/em> partially owned by drag icon Trixie Mattel, will be closing down after more than fifty years of service.<\/p>\n “This summer would have been the 57th anniversary of This is It!<\/em>,” read a statement shared on the bar’s Facebook and Instagram pages over the weekend.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, that celebration will not come to pass. As of today, we have closed our doors permanently. The COVID crisis and the years following 2020, coupled with the 8 month closure of our street and sidewalk last year, put the business in a position that we could not ultimately overcome.<\/p>\n “This is It! has been so much more than a nightlife spot for the queer community. It has been a gathering place, a safe place, a second home, and the memories made at the bar will stay in our hearts forever. We want you to know that we did everything we could to keep our doors open for you.”<\/p>\n The bar was opened in 1968 by June Brehm, with her son Joe managing the bar for several decades before her death in 2010. George Schneider assumed ownership of This Is It!<\/em> in 2016 after six years of bartending there, with the venue undergoing significant expansion in 2019.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a> on his social media, Schneider said that the venue had been facing financial trouble for some time.<\/p>\n “Losing an institution like This Is It! is shocking and surprising. Let it be a reminder to continue to support local businesses however we can. We are all at risk in this unstable world. Sentiment, nostalgia, and memories don’t pay the bills.”<\/p>\nOwner gave “literally everything” to keep bar afloat<\/strong><\/h3>\n