Fire Closes Burnham Park Tavern

Milwaukee Fire Department. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Lucky’s Ice House Bar & Grill is closed until further notice after a June 1 fire damaged the building at 4238 W. Orchard St.

Owner Thomas Schweiger shared an update on social media Monday afternoon, confirming that nobody was injured in the blaze. “Everyone is safe,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, we will not be opening or shuttling to games until further notice.”

Photos of the scene show emergency vehicles parked along Miller Park Way and Orchard Street while crews worked on the ground and roof to extinguish the fire, which reportedly spread from the building’s basement into its walls and upper floors.

The Burnham Park building sits near the border of Milwaukee and West Milwaukee and has served as a neighborhood watering hole under various names and owners for more than 100 years.

Licensing records identify at three operators in recent decades, including Bruce Schwabe, who ran the tavern as Schwabe’s Ice House until David Stratil succeeded him in 2019.

Schweiger took over in 2022 and added “Lucky’s” to the business name. He also owns the tavern building and a second Milwaukee business, Lucky Lanes, at 5014 W. Howard Ave.

Lucky’s offers a full bar program along with an extensive food menu, which was refreshed in April. The selection includes nachos, soft pretzels, cheese curds, chicken wings and other pub snacks, alongside heartier options such as burgers, sandwiches, wraps and Friday fish fry.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Lucky’s has not shared a prospective reopening date or commented publicly on the extent of the damage. Updates will likely be posted to the business’s Facebook page.

The Milwaukee Fire Department did not respond to a request for more information by the time of publication.

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