A Milwaukee Bar Will Close During the Republican National Convention to Avoid Trump Supporters

Two Midwestern institutions have taken scrutiny over the weekend for decisions tied to politics.

The Mothership, a popular and irreverent cocktail bar in Milwaukee, has announced it intends to close during the Republican National Convention, planned for July 15 through 18. Bar owner Ricky Ramirez, in an Instagram post from Wednesday, March 13, writes “As everything gets amplified with like the RNC shitshow coming to town lmao I would like to formally state that we’re shutting bar down during the week of because fuck that noise I’m not trying to get involved with or actively take money or rent the space out to that tomfoolery.”

Ramirez continues that he’s happy to rent out the bar to folks not affiliated with the RNC or politics during that time for a “private event wedding reception wet tshirt contest idk whatever private people wanna party about do.”

As a result, Republicans have review-bombed the bar’s social media sites with users leaving negative impressions from from Idaho, Colorado, and Florida.

Rolling Stone caught up with Ramirez, and a headline asserted that “This Bar Is Closing During the RNC So It Doesn’t Have to Serve Trumpers.” Ramirez clarified to Rolling Stone saying he usually doesn’t care who comes to his bar, but the convention is another matter. To Ramirez, the event is a celebration of values he disagrees with as a child of first-generation immigrants, including the way, as the article describes, that Trump Republicans have “wholeheartedly embraced nativist policies, racist conspiracy theories, and a politics of antagonism against marginalized communities.”

In the Milwaukee Record, Ramirez also shared a disdain for Democrats, writing if the Democratic National Convention was in Milwaukee, they’d “probably do the same thing (especially with what Biden is allowing to happen in Gaza).”

Of course, the DNC will take place from August 19 through August 22 at the United Center in Chicago, a Democratic stronghold that’s no stranger to showing opposition to former President Trump. There’s an infamous incident in June 2019 at the Aviary, a fancy cocktail bar in Fulton Market, where a worker spat at the former president’s son, Eric Trump — an incident condemned by the bar’s ownership and then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot (a Democrat). Meanwhile, in Lincoln Park, Wieners Circle — the famous hot dog stand — has used its signage to make political statements against Donald Trump and make fun of him.

And speaking of the Wieners Circle, on Sunday, ownership made a post on the site formerly known as Twitter, explaining why its sign displayed a message encouraging voters to approve the Bring Home Chicago measure. It’s a measure that impacts the real estate transfer tax. Currently, it’s a flat .75 percent, which is $3.75 for every $500 of transfer price — as nicely explained by WBEZ. The measure would change that and make the rate fluctuate based on the property’s value. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s backers put the question on the Tuesday, March 19 ballot. It’s been controversial. For example, Alinea and Aviary co-founder Nick Kokonas has been vocal on X with his objections.

In its post, the Wieners Circle writes that an unidentified group paid for a customer sign, “but our staff failed to recognize that custom signs won’t be used for political messaging.”

“We may put our own opinions or roasts up there, but the sign is not for others to do this. This sign has been taken down. Thank you for understanding.”

The explanation failed to satisfy everyone. Some folks said the hot dog stand should have taken a stand, to represent something. Others didn’t buy the mistake and swore they would never visit the restaurant again. If they ever were privileged enough to visit and receive genuine Wieners Circle hospitality in the first place.