8:45pm, Wednesday, July 13
Price of Old Style: $2.50 cans
The official name of this bar is the Sportsman’s Club. Yes, “club”. I guess Wednesdays aren’t popular with the members, because it was empty. The woman seemed surprised when we walked in, and she spoke even less English than the bartender at Gus’s. Then we notice "it", in the back corner of the room, with this amazing glow surrounding it…SHUFFLEBOARD BOWLING! I hadn’t seen one of those in years! I also wonder how many other bars have bowling…I only know of a few that even have regular shuffleboard.
So, the next half hour was spent bowling and drinking Old Style, while the older Eastern European bartender awkwardly hung around us, watching and enjoying our little competition.
Sportsmans was definitely one of the better “basement” bars in the city, meaning, a bar that looks like it could be your grandpa’s basement (or any basement in Wisconsin). Wood paneling, beautiful Old Style lights hanging over the bar, a nice long bar, dusty bottles of booze. We’re talking old school cool, and I hope the crowds are better on the weekend…this place is a real gem.
Thaanks for writing this
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