Three-Story Bar Planned For Water Street
Elevate is slated to open in a narrow building between Pourman's and McGillycuddy's.
1129-1131 N. Water St. Photo taken Sep 4, 2020 by Mariiana Tzotcheva.
A new bar is looking to level up on Water Street — times three. Elevate, the latest concept from nightclub veteran Tino Bates, is slated to open at 1131 N. Water St., the three-story building that previously housed Novo.
The upcoming cocktail lounge will offer alcoholic beverages and entertainment including DJs and other live music, but no food, according to a license application.
Elevate will also feature three separate bars, a DJ booth and entertainment stage (located on separate levels) and a rooftop deck. Each level of the lounge will include 1,800 square feet of space.
The rest of the details are yet to come, said Bates, who also owns Truth Lounge and Allure MKE. “The plans are super new, so we don’t have a lot of those formalities set up as of yet,” he told Urban Milwaukee.
More information is sure to come ahead of the business’s prospective opening date, set for February 2024, or the necessary license hearing before the Milwaukee Common Council.
Once Elevate is up and running, Bates expects the business to generate approximately 90% of revenue from alcohol sales and 10% from entertainment fees, according to the license application.
The building itself, a narrow structure squeezed between Pourman’s and McGillycuddy’s, has seen numerous concepts come and go in previous years. It was constructed in 2004 to house Terrace Bar, which was later replaced by Tequila Rita’s and then Coyote Ugly.
The most recent occupant, a sports bar called Novo, took over in November 2015, offering TVs, a dance floor with DJs and rooftop patio. Novo quietly closed just over a year later.
An affiliate of First Aid for Real Estate LLC purchased the building, 1129-1131 N. Water St., for $850,000 in March 2020.
Bates has not yet filed any building permits to modify the space.
Once open, the bar’s proposed hours are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., according to a license application.
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…”will offer alcoholic beverages…but no food”…
Management apologizes for the 2 drink limit,
due to 4-level/7200 square foot evacuation considerations.