Howl At The Moon Is Closed, For Real This Time
This is the second time in Milwaukee that the chain bar has failed to last a year.
Site of former Howl at the Moon, 1103 N. Martin Luther King Jr Dr. Photo taken Jan. 5, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.
Howl at the Moon will not reopen its Milwaukee location, the bar announced earlier this week. It lasted less than a year at 1103 N. Martin Luther King Jr Dr. The latest closure marks the second time the chain has faltered in the city.
News of the official closure came on Jan. 2, nearly a full year after the downtown bar abruptly closed for “updates and construction.”
At first, the bar said it planned to reopen, even offering a text service for patrons to receive updates on its progress. But after several months passed without a sign of interior changes, customers began to suspect that the bar had closed for good. There were also no permits filed for alterations to the space.
“We want to thank each and every one of you who supported us expanding to Milwaukee, however sadly, our doors will not be reopening,” ownership wrote in the online post. “We appreciate your support and we hope to Howl with you again.”
The live music bar chain, known for its dueling piano shows, was founded in 1990. Terry Cunningham and Jimmy Bernstein opened the first location in Cincinnati, later franchising the concept to expand to major cities across the country.
The latest Milwaukee location opened in April 2022. Michael Wabiszewski was the agent for the business, according to a license application.
After opening in August 2000, a prior Howl at the Moon location at 770 N. Jefferson St. lasted less than a year.
The chain maintains 14 locations across the country. Howl at the Moon also plays shows aboard Norwegian Cruise Line and offers a traveling version of its dueling piano concept, Howl2Go, which is available to book for weddings, corporate events and other occasions.
Prior to Howl at the Moon’s opening, the downtown building was home to The Pub Club. The previous business closed on Feb. 1, 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. It opened in 2015 under the management of brothers Jake and Seth Dehne, who previously operated Suite nightclub in the building.
The three-story building, originally constructed in 1878, has housed a string of bars in recent decades including Have A Nice Day Cafe. With office space on the upper floors, the building is owned by an affiliate of Joseph Property Development.
A representative of Howl at the Moon did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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