New Piano Bar Slated for Downtown

Piano keys.

A Madison piano bar could expand, opening a second location in downtown Milwaukee this fall.

Owner Jack Sosnowski has filed an application with the city for the Ivory Room Piano Bar. Sosnowski currently co-owns The Ivory Room Piano Bar (116 W. Mifflin St.) in Madison with his wife, Julie Sosnowski.

The bar would be located at 160 W. Wisconsin Ave., sharing the ground floor of the Posner Building (730 N. Plankinton Ave.) with Mo’s Irish Pub (142 W. Wisconsin Ave.). The other eight stories of the building are occupied by MKE Lofts (725 N. Plankinton Ave.).

Jack Sosnowski has applied for the bar under the business, Bumble Bee Tuna LLC, and is listed as its sole owner. Sosnowski could not be immediately reached for comment.

Ivory Room Piano Bar floor plan.

While the business is described simply as a “tavern with live entertainment” on the application, piano serenades, sing-a-longs, solos and duels can be expected if the Milwaukee location mimics the Madison bar. According to The Ivory Room Piano Bar’s website, the Madison location also offers taps of local, craft beer along with craft cocktails and a variety of wines.

The proposed opening date for the Milwaukee location is September 29th. The Ivory Room expects to make 95 percent of its sales from alcohol and the other 5 percent from “secondhand merchandise,” so it does not appear that any food will be served.

According to the application, the bar expects to have substantially more customers on the weekend than during the week. It projects the number of customers to range from 30 to 70 Monday to Thursday, with as many as 200 customers on Friday and 230 on Saturday. The capacity of the space is 240 people.

According to the application, Sosnowski’s lease of the space began on July 8th, 2019 and is valid until November 30th, 2029. The monthly rent is listed as $8,250.

Proposed hours for Ivory Room Piano Bar are 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday to Thursday and 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

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