Hegarty's closing TONIGHT?!

[reinko]

Why do I have the feeling that it will be open again soon, could be a marketing ploy to get some last minute cash...

[State Street Warrior]

Why do I have the feeling that it will be open again soon, could be a marketing ploy to get some last minute cash...

I hope that is the case, but I doubt it.  They had announced this was their last semester a while back.  If you look at the picture on the JSonline article it looks like the walls are cleaned off, and apparently they are out of everything on tap and only have a few bottles left according to a friend of mine who's there.

[bma725]

Why do I have the feeling that it will be open again soon, could be a marketing ploy to get some last minute cash...

Because they did that exact thing 10 years ago, and very few people remember it.  I remember the grand reopening party after they had been closed for awhile, seemed like the entire campus showed up, and then months later no one was going to Hegarty's anymore because the guy running it was a jerk.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

People are blaming Marquette?

If so, that's unfortunate.

The knee-jerk defense of MU is kind of hilarious, though. Lighten up.

[g0lden3agle]

People are blaming Marquette?

If so, that's unfortunate.

The knee-jerk defense of MU is kind of hilarious, though. Lighten up.

I know I had heard Marquette had a role in the fact that Hegarty's lease wasn't being renewed... I'm pretty sure anything that has to do with limiting the availability of booze on campus comes back to Marquette somehow in the eyes of the students.

[Gabriel P. Slade M.D.]

I'm not surprised about the bankruptcy. I've been an occassional patron over the past six years, stopping in for lunch or a post surgery beer. There hasn't been much of a "regular" clientele in years. This is probably a product of a series of absentee owners and a lack of a consistently welcoming culture. I'm sure the place was still full from 12-2 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but those kids were drinking $1 taps and jello shots, adding next to nothing to the bottom line.

When we were in school, you could walk in there at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday and find the seats at the bar 3/4 full with regulars.... Fuzz, Dave Latusch, the mailman, some degenerate attorneys, Mike Deane, an off-duty dop, a couple PhD candidates, Wayne the drunken carpenter and his buddy, Rudy the Indian, etc. Vestiges of now almost extinct Milwaukee culture where drinking your ass off in the middle of the day was a perfectly acceptable part of business.

It was on the backs of these liquor pigs that Paul Quinn rose to the ranks of the lower middle class... Their consistent and regular patronage allowed Paul to make the rent for his two bedroom apartment in newbridge almost every month, pay the note on his 10 year-old Astrovan, buy a new sweat suit once in a while and every now and again score a half and half from one of the many crack-addicted hookers within walking distance from the bar.

Alas, times have changed. Drinking mass quantities of scotch and vomiting during "business" hours is frowned upon these days... as obsolete as treating a stomach full of ulcers with a couple alka seltzers dropped in a tumbler full of room temperature gin and sweet vermouth. And for all the right reasons... thats no way to live. There are not enough people willing to subject themselves to the life a barfly to keep places like Hegarty's afloat. Perhaps we've gotten soft as a culture, but who can blame a peson for not having the fortitude to take on a a life of loneliness, the cruel mix of impotence and rampant venerial disease, serial unemployment, the above mentioned ulcers, etc. just to keep an institution like Hegarty's open.

Tragic on one hand to see it go, but a perfectly reasonable market response when you think about it.

[MUEng92]

Wow, I went from laughing out loud at the nose picking defense photo to being sad reading that post.  That's too big of an emotional swing.

[GGGG]

Gabriel...yours was the best post on any topic that I have read in awhile.  However, head to Cudahy, West Allis, etc. and the mid-day drinking tradition you will see is far from "almost extinct."

[foreverwarriors]

Journal Sentinel article has been updated to include more bankruptcy proceeding info regarding Heg's owner and the company that leased the building:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/92405674.html

[Ari Gold]

I've never heard someone wax poetic so elequently about such a crappy bar

[ZiggysFryBoy]

was more of a murph's guy myself (daily) and didn't go to heg's much (too far to walk from 16th st.) but heg's was a fantastic day-drinking bar.

[MUBurrow]

Ridiculous that Marquette had to put out a statement, but since everyone was blaming them for it:

It might be unfortunate that a lot of people (myself included) jumped on the blame MU bandwagon a little quickly.  As for myself, I'm not aware of the facts enough to know how little or how much of a hand they might have played in all of this, but you're right that I should have pointed that out from the beginning.

As for it being ridiculous that MU had to put out a statement, I couldn't disagree more.  When your campus is only about 8 blocks by 5 blocks, you are absolutely a part of the things that go on within that space.  This holds particularly true when one of the businesses in that space holds a special place in the heart and memories of both current students and alums.  When you add to that the fact that MU has been buying out similarly situated establishments lately (Ziggy's comes immediately to mind) and that for being in such a bar heavy town, MU has surprisingly few on campus, they absolutely owe it to their alums and the community to to keep the public abreast of their (non) involvement.

[Pepperoni_Cannoli]

Because they did that exact thing 10 years ago, and very few people remember it.  I remember the grand reopening party after they had been closed for awhile, seemed like the entire campus showed up, and then months later no one was going to Hegarty's anymore because the guy running it was a jerk.

Exactly.  I was already at "Hegarty's Last Night."  You'd think all the people on this board proclaiming it's iconic status would remember that.

[Gwaki]

Why do I have the feeling that it will be open again soon, could be a marketing ploy to get some last minute cash...

Because I was there today and I watched them empty out the kitchen and take everything with them.

[🏀]

Great time last night.

[ATL MU Warrior]

was more of a murph's guy myself (daily) and didn't go to heg's much (too far to walk from 16th st.) but heg's was a fantastic day-drinking bar.

Just out of curiousity what made it a good day-drinking bar?  My criteria for that are pretty basic:

1) The bar is open

2) They have booze

3) It's light outside when you go in

4) It's dark when you come out (if you can remember coming out)

[bma725]

Because I was there today and I watched them empty out the kitchen and take everything with them.

They did that last time as well.  Held a closing party, got rid of or sold the stuff that was in there.  MU was working out a deal to buy it, but before it was finalized someone else put in a better offer and the place reopened a few months later.  Given that MU hasn't yet finalized the deal this time, it wouldn't exactly be a shock to see Hegarty's holding their second Grand Re-Opening party when first semester rolls around.

[Sir Lawrence]

Just out of curiousity what made it a good day-drinking bar?  My criteria for that are pretty basic:

1) The bar is open

2) They have booze

3) It's light outside when you go in

4) It's dark when you come out (if you can remember coming out)

5) No hostess taking you to your table

6) There is no no-smoking section

7)  The only food available is microwavable or the pizza oven the frozen pizza guy set the bar up with.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Just out of curiousity what made it a good day-drinking bar?  My criteria for that are pretty basic:

1) The bar is open

2) They have booze

3) It's light outside when you go in

4) It's dark when you come out (if you can remember coming out)

good sandwiches, the drunk mailmen, no idea what time it is due to the layout, golden tee.  plus the obvious being open and having beer flowing.

(for the record, playing golden tee at any bar during a night out is a mandatory "no action" night in the ladies department.  doesn't matter if you go to a different bar, somehow the ladies know that you played golden tee that night.  rule doesn't apply if you play golden tee during day drinking.)

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I'm not surprised about the bankruptcy. I've been an occassional patron over the past six years, stopping in for lunch or a post surgery beer. There hasn't been much of a "regular" clientele in years. This is probably a product of a series of absentee owners and a lack of a consistently welcoming culture. I'm sure the place was still full from 12-2 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but those kids were drinking $1 taps and jello shots, adding next to nothing to the bottom line.

When we were in school, you could walk in there at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday and find the seats at the bar 3/4 full with regulars.... Fuzz, Dave Latusch, the mailman, some degenerate attorneys, Mike Deane, an off-duty dop, a couple PhD candidates, Wayne the drunken carpenter and his buddy, Rudy the Indian, etc. Vestiges of now almost extinct Milwaukee culture where drinking your ass off in the middle of the day was a perfectly acceptable part of business.

It was on the backs of these liquor pigs that Paul Quinn rose to the ranks of the lower middle class... Their consistent and regular patronage allowed Paul to make the rent for his two bedroom apartment in newbridge almost every month, pay the note on his 10 year-old Astrovan, buy a new sweat suit once in a while and every now and again score a half and half from one of the many crack-addicted hookers within walking distance from the bar.

Alas, times have changed. Drinking mass quantities of scotch and vomiting during "business" hours is frowned upon these days... as obsolete as treating a stomach full of ulcers with a couple alka seltzers dropped in a tumbler full of room temperature gin and sweet vermouth. And for all the right reasons... thats no way to live. There are not enough people willing to subject themselves to the life a barfly to keep places like Hegarty's afloat. Perhaps we've gotten soft as a culture, but who can blame a peson for not having the fortitude to take on a a life of loneliness, the cruel mix of impotence and rampant venerial disease, serial unemployment, the above mentioned ulcers, etc. just to keep an institution like Hegarty's open.

Tragic on one hand to see it go, but a perfectly reasonable market response when you think about it.

Everybody in Milwaukee should be exactly like Gabriel P. Slade, M.D. and only go to bars for a "post surgery" beer."

[GGGG]

It might be unfortunate that a lot of people (myself included) jumped on the blame MU bandwagon a little quickly.  As for myself, I'm not aware of the facts enough to know how little or how much of a hand they might have played in all of this, but you're right that I should have pointed that out from the beginning.

As for it being ridiculous that MU had to put out a statement, I couldn't disagree more.  When your campus is only about 8 blocks by 5 blocks, you are absolutely a part of the things that go on within that space.  This holds particularly true when one of the businesses in that space holds a special place in the heart and memories of both current students and alums.  When you add to that the fact that MU has been buying out similarly situated establishments lately (Ziggy's comes immediately to mind) and that for being in such a bar heavy town, MU has surprisingly few on campus, they absolutely owe it to their alums and the community to to keep the public abreast of their (non) involvement.

It's not ridiculous that they actually put out a statement.  It is ridiculous that they were put in a sitaution where they had to.  MU shouldn't need to comment on closings of campus area bars.  They should completely stay out of that kind of stuff.  (And remember that this is what I do for a living.)

[reinko]

It's not ridiculous that they actually put out a statement.  It is ridiculous that they were put in a sitaution where they had to.  MU shouldn't need to comment on closings of campus area bars.  They should completely stay out of that kind of stuff.  (And remember that this is what I do for a living.)

You close campus bars for a living?  You sir are a jagoff.   

[LON]

good sandwiches, the drunk mailmen, no idea what time it is due to the layout, golden tee.  plus the obvious being open and having beer flowing.

(for the record, playing golden tee at any bar during a night out is a mandatory "no action" night in the ladies department.  doesn't matter if you go to a different bar, somehow the ladies know that you played golden tee that night.  rule doesn't apply if you play golden tee during day drinking.)

But they LOVE IT when you play Bag Toss...

[GGGG]

You close campus bars for a living?  You sir are a jagoff.   

I haven't closed a campus bar since 1991.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

But they LOVE IT when you play Bag Toss...

chicks like bags alot more than golden tee (no puns intended )