Vitucci’s; an End of an Era and an End to a Part of Milwaukee History.

Located on North Ave is the remains of a building that for many local Milwaukeeans, fostered a place to make connections and share experiences with others. Vitucci’s cocktail lounge, the historical bar that opened its doors in 1943, announced its permanent closing on Nov. 14, 2019.  

The closing of Vitucci’s has made many east-side locals and UWM college students nostalgic for a time where they could drink in the comfort of warm red walls and make their way onto the make-shift dancefloor after the end of a long week.  

For many generations, Vitucci’s has been the hot spot among UWM students and graduates, being that it’s located a few blocks from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s campus. 

“It’s like a bar right-of-passage as a college student in Milwaukee,” says UWM student, Jay Zuhlke. 

But, the closing of the once loved bar has sparked conversation around the changing east side of Milwaukee. A local business owner on the east side, Ryan Mason, Owner of Roast Coffee Company, suggests that the reason why young people have changed the way they drink is because they don’t want to be like the generations before them. 

“Young kids are changing drinking because you saw us and the amount we were drinking, and you young people said, ‘I don’t want to be like that,’” says Mason.  

According to a UWM student Erin Healy, Vitucci’s, compared to the rest of the bars in the area, lacks character and the upkeep that other bars in the area have.  

“First impression, it was loud and cramped with no seats,” says Aaron Gresbach, student at UWM. 

For one UWM graduate, Julian Lapkus, it was the place where he got to know his wife. He said that 15 years ago, it was the best place to go around the area.  

“I remember it was a really nice place compared to everything else and It felt like a place that Frank Sinatra would go to, but that was fifteen years ago,” says Lapkus. 

Lapkus said he wouldn’t be surprised if the demographic changed, it was designed to serve older people. But that doesn’t change the lasting legacy the Vitucci’s had among the Milwaukee community.  

After the Italian family immigrated to Milwaukee and the Prohibition had been put in the past, the first owner, Angelo Vitucci open the bar not knowing how popular it would becoming.  

It wasn’t until Angelo passed away that the bar started to achieve the reputation it holds now and has for a long time. Myron Vitucci took over and took Vitucci’s in a different direction. Myron started hosting live music in the bar which brought in a surge of college students and community members around Milwaukee. 

Vitucci’s had been one of the leading scenes of alternative music in the 80’s. According to an article posted on OnMilwaukee and written by Bobby Tanzilo, Vitucci’s hosted bands such as the Squares, The Edge, Women’s Liberace, Exploded View, Umbrella Man, Depo Provera and others.   

Vitucci’s last concert before closing was with Nickelodeon star and Saturday Night Live cast member, Drake Bell.  His performance brought in many local college students on January 17^th, 2019.  

Aside from owning the bar, the Vitucci family was well known for Milwaukee’s Mafia back in the 40’s. According to the Milwaukee Historical Society, Vitucci’s was the hang out Det. Louis Dieden. This led to bootlegging and gun play in the bar, and hosts a multitude of history that has made the bar such a historical Milwaukee favorite.