BROCACH HEADS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

Brocach Irish Pub leads Changes in Nightlife Options

By Michael Horne



The long fallow period for the historic tavern at 1850 N. Water St. ended on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 with the opening of Brocach Irish Pub and Restaurant. The old Five and Ten has been radically transformed, and apparently it took much more than a mere $678,000 Small Business Association loan to pull it off. Just get a load of all of the permits they pulled on the place! Owner C.Clifford McDonald III is originally from Boston, and has operated a Brocach in Madison, right across from the Capitol building since September, 2004. He says he plans to divide his time between Milwaukee and Madison, which puts him in a league with a number of legislators, except at a better per diem. The Madison outpost of the pub is open for luncheon, but the Milwaukee version doesn't get rolling until 3:30 p.m., or about the time first shift used to let out at the Gallun Tannery across the street, before it was shuttered.
Those who remember the Five and Ten, which is everybody over thirty on the Milwaukee Police Department, will remember it as a quintessential working man's tavern - former rooming house, owned by homicide detective Bill Vogl. It was located on a not-too-choice lot, cut into a bluff. The looming tannery to the west prevented it from enjoying any particular view for the first century or so. Now, Gallun is gone, and patrons can enjoy a view clear across the river to The Edge, a condominium now under construction. The Five and Ten was just one room deep, with a crazy little kitchen at the end of the bar, and two non-connected basements. The place was gutted and the basement was filled with rubble to help stabilize the building and to accommodate its expansion, owner McDonald says. There is now a bar upstairs and down, and a new wing to the north housing the kitchen. The bluff has been somewhat tamed, and considerable outdoor seating area will be available in season. Every detail seems to be of the highest possible quality, and the seating area is segmented into a number of "snugs," in a most traditional Irish style. Early visitors include such tavern operators as John Sidoff of Hooligan's and Mike Murphy of the Swingin' Door, both long-established favorites. The Brocach (Bro-kaw) walls are hung with a number of old prints and posters. Shelves groan under the weight of odds and ends, books and nicknacks of indeterminate authenticity. (Judging from the collection, it appears that Boiled Linseed Oil was a linchpin of the Irish economy, sold in a variety of containers ranging from glass to clay, but all bearing identical labels.) There are a number of beers on tap, including the usual suspects, along with Lakefront Brewery Cream City Pale Ale, crafted just downstream. The only Miller product on tap is Lite. The good beers were $4.50 per generous pint. I had no occasion to inquire as to the cost of the Miller Lite, since I am already acquainted with its value. The Cream City was delicious.
If you want to give the bar a ring, you will find it listed on page 47 of the September, 2007 Milwaukee Yellow Pages. However, do not call the number listed there, since it is wrong, as is the one that accompanies the Brocach listing on Google. (They belong to a most patient guy named Ed.) Instead dial 1 414 431-9009. ... Indian Rasoi opened for business on November 21st, 2007, just in time for the Thanksgiving rush. The restaurant at 1696 N. Van Buren St. is in the site of the former Dancing Ganesha. It is open for luncheon and dinner. ... The Oriental Coast, a longtime fixture on the east side at 1230 E. Brady St. has closed its doors. It was briefly, and unsuccessfully, under new management. Property owner Julilly Kohler says she is close to inking a deal with a new operator and will tell milwaukeeworld all about it when she may. ... Work is underway at Alem Ethiopian Restaurant at 315 E. Wisconsin Avenue. ... Meanwhile, The Taste of Thai has opened just two doors to the east at 307 E. Wisconsin Avenue. It serves luncheon and dinner. Give them a ring at 1 414 297-9995.