"The place for Swig is not on Water Street, it's in the Third Ward," owner Joe Sorge told me today.
Sorge and his wife Angie are busy these days, not only with Water Buffalo, but now with changing Swig's space at 1227 N. Water St. into a new concept called Sullivan's and eventually, in the fall, moving Swig to the Historic Third Ward.
"We're not closing Swig, just finding a more appropriate place for it," said Sorge noting that his chef, Frank Ortlieb, has learned a great deal about small plate dining and is excited to keep the concept going at a new space in the Third Ward. I can speculate where this will be, but I won't at this time.
Anyway, this is the final weekend for the Water Street version of Swig. And, let's face it, the place never really fit in. Water Street is more casual and not quite ready for finer dining. Swig's back party room is great, though, and Sorge says he'll "maintain that back space for events" inside the new Sullivan's that will open after Summerfest.
What else can you expect at Sullivan's? Sorge says it will be "a bar that's appropriate for Water Street." Think Bar Louie or a Water Street version of Cans, if you will.
However the space formerly known as Luke's and 1225 Water ultimately changes physically, we do know it will be called Sullivan's and it will be "a hometown bar," according to Sorge, who also owns The Corner, 1247 N. Water St. and Sauce in the Historic Third Ward.
As for Swig, this is the final weekend to sample its small plate dining. You'll have to wait until "around Thanksgiving" for the new Swig to re-open.
Keep reading these pages for updates on Sullivan's and the new Swig.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
