C'EST GOODBYE TO C'EST LA VIE

C'est la Vie, 233 S. 2nd St., Milwaukee, 2004

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

C'est La Vie, a 33-year old gay bar that is approximately twice as old as its most favored customers, is set to close its doors at 231 S. 2nd St. this weekend. Last call will be Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, according to information on the bar's MySpace page. The closing will be a drag for some, and will be celebrated thematically with a drag show, a staple of the house, as were young male strippers, many of whom conveniently lodged in the 16-unit rooming house above.
The tavern was operated by Clarence Germershausen, a.k.a. "John Clayton," who died on August 29th, 2005. It has been managed by his associate Martin Belkin since then.
Germershausen's estate is still in probate, with a complete cast of players, including Belkin (a.k.a. "Bilikie") serving as personal representative. Other characters, according to court documents, include the decedent, heirs, objectors, a special administrator, a bondsperson and an "other." Judge John DiMotto [UW '74] is charged with sorting out the whole mess, including "substantial assets" discovered after the will had been filed with the probate court.
Germershausen's real estate holdings, mostly on the same block as the bar, are in the process of being liquidated. A vacant 1855 building two doors to the north sold last year for $600,000 and is being rehabilitated. Germershausen lived in the upper floors of what otherwise appeared to be a lifeless building a few doors north of the bar. Once inside, and above the first floor, (a former 1870s saloon and dance hall) it resembled a sort of gay Hugh Hefner palace, circa 1980, with many, many mirrors, and lots of comfy horizontal surfaces.
The blocks of S. 2nd Street in the vicinity were home to many gay bars during the 1970s and for a number of years afterward. The Ball Game, 196 S. 2nd St., opened in 1974, and still has what appear to be its original customers. C'est La Vie was immediately north of Barossa, (once The Phoenix) the the now-closed restaurant that was the only upscale business on the seedy strip that also included Club 219, a genuine 1970s disco that became a late 1990s crack dump.The longest established currently operating gay bar in Milwaukee is This Is It, 418 E. Wells St. (Look for the sign). It opened in 1968.

UNIQUE PIZZA CLOSED
Unique Pizza, 1016 E. Brady St., is closed after slightly less than a year in business. The Pittsburgh chain was to have opened a number of locations throughout the country, with John Budzinski holding the master franchise for Wisconsin, where 20 stores were expected to have opened by this year. A second store opened in Oconomowoc in January although the number there was disconnected when called today. The company's stock has been in a free fall since inception, and now trades for less than a penny a share. I get the feeling this pizza's cooked.
--Michael Horne