Brady Street district bars sold to nearby owner after ‘no play list’ of Black artists causes outrage

Owners of two Brady Street area bars have closed effective immediately and are finalizing a sale following backlash after an employee created a “no play list” for local DJs that featured predominantly Black artists.  

Last week, a leaked text message spread on social media that stated DJs could not play music from a list of 40 prominent Black hip-hop artists. The message said this was “coming from ownership” of The Garage, 1709 N. Arlington Place, and failure to comply would result in a loss of gigs. 

The text caught the attention of people even outside of Milwaukee, with rapper Sexyy Red weighing in, after she found herself at the top of the list. In addition to big names like Lil’ Wayne, Glorilla and Migos, the leaked text message stated “No Milwaukee Rap.”  

After the list went viral, owners of the establishment posted to Instagram blaming an employee for issuing the list, “which was not approved by ownership.” 

“The intention was to eliminate music with lyrics that referenced violence or guns, and create a more relaxed vibe at the establishment but a list of artists was certainly the wrong approach,” the post also states.

Brady Street is often dealing with crime and homelessness. Events over some weekends find their way into the work week once the public posts video of incidents from the bar district. The Brady Street Business Improvement District hired private security last year. 

But according to Milwaukee police, crime on Brady is down in recent years. However, that doesn’t stop racism from creeping in, by targeting young Black people specifically. 

Given the events in recent days, The Garage and neighboring Hi Hat Lounge, 1701 N. Arlington Place, will be sold to Scott Schaefer, owner of Jack’s American Pub on Brady Street and Milwaukee Brat House on MLK Drive, and his business partner, Daz Towers, according to a news release from ownership. 

Both establishments are closed effective immediately and “Once the sale is completed and appropriate licenses are in place, the new owners will announce next steps,” said Leslie Montemurro, one of the owners, in the news release.

Montemurro said sale discussion with Schaefer began earlier this summer as they planned for retirement, but in light of recent events and staffing concerns, ownership made the decision to move forward with the sale. 

“While the last week has been challenging, we are very proud of more than two decades of helping create a welcoming and diverse Brady Street community. We want to again apologize for the hurt this situation has caused as we know it fell short of the values we have tried to uphold for the past 28 years. We also want to offer our deepest gratitude to our staff, our patrons and our neighboring businesses for their support over the years,” Montemurro wrote.

“We’re grateful for the chance to pass this business on to someone who cares about Brady Street and this community the way we do. As we retire, we look forward to seeing these two establishments and the rest of Brady Street thrive for years to come.”