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Bar Centro, a cozy cocktail lounge and music venue at 804 E. Center St. in Riverwest, is perhaps best described by the following story.
“One night, we were completely filled to capacity and a group walked up and was disappointed they couldn’t come in,” says Peg Karpfinger, who co-owns Bar Centro with her husband, Pat Moore.
“It was a beautiful summer night, so we brought some chairs out onto the sidewalk, got them some drinks and then they started dancing. It turns out they were a dance group that had just had a rehearsal. Our windows were open and they could hear the band inside and they danced on our sidewalk for hours. It was really magical.”
Bar Centro features local music – primarily jazz, folk and Americana – every weekend. It hosts a Jazz Jam the first Thursday of every month, and upcoming shows include a Nina Simone tribute act, jazz group Casimir Riley Quartet and a reggae-soul-blues band called Suga Blu. Centro’s full music line-up can be found here.
“Musicians tell us they really like playing here. It’s intimate and our guests are very respectful,” says Karpfinger. “People of all ages feel comfortable coming here – from older people in their 60s and 70s to very young. We even had a newborn baby in here recently. That's how mellow it usually is in here."
The walk-up lounge has a romantic, New Orleans-esque vibe. The space is long and narrow with tall ceilings, dark blue walls, warm gold accents, crown moulding, original sconces and lots of refinished dark wood. Moore did the majority of the work himself.
“I wanted it to look and feel like a place Miles Davis would’ve wanted to play in,” says Moore.
The horseshoe-shaped bar – topped with marble and wrapped in repurposed tin ceiling tiles – is off to the side. The space boasts a dozen or so tables with candle votives and a stage area with a piano.
The walls are adorned with vintage mirrors that Moore found in thrift stores. He hung them thoughtfully, so people sitting at the bar with an obstructed view of the stage could see the performers reflected in the glass.
Bar Centro has a solid cocktail menu that slightly changes with the seasons. Signature cocktails include an Italian Manhattan made with Templeton six-year whiskey, Cocchi dopo Teatro, Yellow Chartreuse, Averna, black walnut bitters and garnished with an Italian olive and cherry. A Negroni, Sazerac, Italian Old Fashioned and Amaro Sour are also available, along with liqueurs, wine, beer and a non-alcoholic Italian spritz.
Prior to being a lounge, the storied space was home to People’s Books, erotic boutique Tool Shed, a massage school, a law office and a funeral home. Karpfinger ran her landscape architect firm from the space for a few years as well.
Bar Centro opened in 2019. When Karpfinger and Moore bought the building they did not have a clear vision of what they wanted to do with it. They also own the building next door that houses their highly praised Italian restaurant, Centro Cafe.
“We’re extremely dedicated to this neighborhood,” says Karpfinger.
Karpfiger and Moore have lived in Riverwest for multiple decades and are passionate about the neighborhood and the community. The couple traveled through Europe extensively and fell in love with Italian culture. They were also inspired by an Italian restaurant owned by Moore’s brother in Chicago.
But opening a jazz-heavy club came as a surprise to Moore and Karpfinger. Prior to opening, they weren’t particularly knowledgable about jazz music.
“I started buying any jazz album I could get my hands on at thrift stores and loved everything I heard except maybe Kenny G. But you know what? I’m at the point now that I can even appreciate Kenny G,” says Moore.
Bar Centro organically found its niche. It survived the pandemic and has really come into its own over the past few years.
“We never had a real strong plan. We just let it happen,” says Moore. “She trusted me and I trusted her.”
Bar Centro is open from Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to close.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
