Conway’s to Close in Late December
Venerable Wells St. bar will open several more times, offering chances to celebrate and say goodbye.
Conway’s at 2117-2131 W. Wells St. in 2022. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
As 2024 draws to a close, so too will Conway’s Smokin’ Bar and Grill. The longstanding tavern, 2127 W. Wells St., will officially call it quits after service on Dec. 27, owner Debbie Thatcher announced last weekend.
“THE SUN WILL SET ON Conway’s Smokin Bar & Grill,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Please come visit us before we close and say goodbye to this 70-year-old institution.”
Thatcher has led the business since the early 1990s, taking over from her stepfather, Bernard T. Conway, Jr., according to Michael Horne‘s 2016 Bar Exam. However, the building’s history as a local watering hole dates back nearly 90 years, and is packed with history — both visible and not.
City records show that in 1935, it housed a tavern alongside Berlin Dye Works (a laundry facility), a bakery, a grocer, and Ardison Restaurant, with a handful of apartments occupying the upper floors.
Under Thatcher’s leadership, the enduring Conway’s proudly shows its age, with wood-paneled walls covered in an eclectic mix of beer signs, vintage cameras and various knickknacks arranged on high shelves. Thatcher added a stage — often the site of blues performances — and tapped into her artistic talents to create hand-painted murals and homemade decorations, which changed with the seasons. She also assembled photo collages featuring past patrons, adding a personal touch to the neighborhood space.
More than just a feast for the eyes, Conway’s includes a small kitchen dishing up smoked corned beef, smoked meatloaf, smoked barbecue beef, smoked pork loin and wings — atomic or regular — along with homemade sides.
Conway’s has contributed both charm and quirk to its neighborhood, just steps from the Marquette University campus—not to mention the entire lifetimes devoted by its past and present owners.
Several opportunities remain to visit Conway’s before its closure. The tavern will open at 3 p.m. Dec. 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28. The kitchen opens at 4 p.m.
Thatcher also owned the Harp and Shamrock bar across the street, but business shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Its building, 2104-2106 W. Wells St., was demolished in 2022.
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