Oprah Visits Milwaukee Public Market
The mega-celebrity paid a visit to her niece and nephew-in-law, the owners of Pat's Rib Place.
Ty Hayes (left) and Oprah Winfrey. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Market.
What the Milwaukee Public Market may have lacked in traffic this past week, it made up for in star power.
Oprah Winfrey paid a visit on Thursday to support her niece and nephew-in-law, Alisha and Ty Hayes, who operate Pat’s Rib Place.
Winfrey, a television host and producer, is best known for her eponymous talk show, which aired for 25 seasons, from 1986 to 2011. She is also a celebrated philanthropist, having founded the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation and donated millions of dollars towards efforts to improve access to education.
Pat’s Rib Place joined the public market as a vendor in 2021, though it has been in business for much longer. The Hayeses first launched the soul food business in 2009. The restaurant’s Waukesha location closed in 2023 after 14 years in business.
In addition to its namesake spare ribs, Pat’s offers pulled pork, smoked pastrami, corned beef and sides such as cornbread, smoked baked beans and homemade potato salad. The business’s homemade sauces are also available for purchase by the jar.
Pat’s is named for Alisha’s late mother, Patricia “Lee” Lloyd, who passed away in 2003. Winfrey, who is Lloyd’s half-sister, didn’t discover the relation until adulthood.
Winfrey’s surprise appearance in Milwaukee coincided with the final day of the Republican National Convention, which was held less than a mile northwest of the market, 400 N. Water St.
Oprah at RNC?
Coincidentally, Winfrey made a cameo during the RNC’s evening programming. In a video screened just before Donald Trump took the stage, Winfrey was shown interviewing the now-Republican presidential nominee.
During the clip, dated 1988, Winfrey inquires whether Trump would ever consider running for president. At first, he seems to reject the notion.
“Probably not,” he said.
But that didn’t satisfy Winfrey. “You’ve said, though, that if you did run for president, you think you’d win,” she said.
“I’ll tell you what, I wouldn’t go in to lose,” Trump responded.
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The interview was 36 years ago. Why did she show up in Milwaukee now?
She was in Milwaukee because of a death in her family.
I think the question is why show a 36 years old interview? Did the RNC ask Oprah permission to show the interview? Or this like so many other times, the RNC co-opting copyrighted materials without asking permission. Seems to me the RNC is trying to hint that Oprah supports 45? More lies to add to their mountain of lies.
While all these news bits are interesting, I’d really appreciate two things: on Mondays, please post a section called “What’s happening this week.” But on every day, start your post with “What’s happening today that you should know bout.”
What you are doing currently is posting interesting events THE DAY BEFORE…but NOT “on the day of the event.” That’s great for OCD people who plan ahead. But when I am busy I might skip UM for a few day, as I did this past week. Then Saturday arrived, and I read a Saturday’s UM to find out what’s happening. There wasn’t one mention of the BRADY STREET’s Feetival, so I missed it. ThAT should not happen. Mentioning things ahead of time As well as on the day itself would solve that problem. Thanks.