Landmark 1850 Inn, one of Milwaukee's oldest bars, plans to reopen in 2024

Landmark 1850 Inn on Milwaukee's south side plans to reopen in spring 2024 as the sons of the original owner, along with a new operator, bring the 173-year-old bar back to life.

The bar, 5905 S. Howell Ave., has been touted as Milwaukee's oldest. It originally opened in 1850 as a neighborhood bar for local farmers and those traveling between Chicago and Milwaukee, according to research done by the late Joseph Halser III, who owned and operated the bar for 40 years.

Halser kept the bar open up until the day before he died on April 30, 2022. It has remain closed since.

"People thought that me and my brothers didn't want to keep (Landmark 1850 Inn), but that's not what it was about," said Halser's son, Joseph Halser IV. "Everything in there my dad touched. We didn't want to be in there every day and just look at it. There were sad feelings and mourning."

As they mourned their father's death, and at the advice of the estate lawyer, Halser and his brothers Jim and Jeff sought new buyers for Landmark, along with two adjoining properties their father had purchased: The Terminal, an old trucking terminal that had been turned into a dining and banquet hall; and another restaurant previously known as Port of Hamburg.

The properties had two separate purchase deals in place, but both ultimately fell through. That's when Linda Garcia, who worked at Landmark 1850 Inn in the '90s, reached out on social media to see if she could help reopen the bar.

"I wasn’t raised religious, but I felt like we were being guided to keep the bar, that it wouldn’t leave the family," Halser said. "I decided to go with it."

A new era

For the last seven years, Garcia, who has 30 years experience in the service industry, worked at the bar at the Hilton Garden Inn across the street from Landmark.

"I have been looking at Landmark over there — it has so much potential and it wasn’t being utilized in the end, not to anyone's fault. Joe Sr. was getting older and he couldn't keep up and he eventually passed," Garcia said. "I had been watching and waiting to see what would happen. I decided I should probably take a look and see what they were doing with it."

When she first looked at purchasing it for her first bar ownership venture, the bar was combined with the two neighboring properties and listed for $4 million, which was too high for her.

After the two other purchase agreements fell through, Halser put out a call on social media for a potential operator of Landmark 1850 Inn.

"I figured it was time for me to call Joe Jr.; I hadn’t talked to him since the '90s," Garcia said. "We really connected on what we wanted it to be.

"It's magical the way it came together. There's nothing better for me that I could possibly imagine. It's just a dream come true," Garcia said.

She and the Halser brothers have been working to restore the bar to its former glory.

They have made needed repairs to some old piping and restored the 170-plus-year-old floors.

Garcia is working on getting the food and drink menu together. She said that she wants to go through the history of the building and have drinks or plates named after important historical events or figures related to Landmark 1850 Inn.

She said that during her time at the Hilton Garden Inn she would recommend Landmark to anyone who came by, include famous guests. She said visitors included members of the bands Korn and Sevendust, along with artists Bruce Hornsby, Mickey Thomas from Jefferson Starship, and country artist Lauren Alaina who once did an acoustic set at Landmark 1850 Inn after her Milwaukee show.

Garcia plans to incorporate a wall that will include signatures of famous people who come by in the future.

"When people ask, 'Where should I go?' and people say the Harley Museum, Art Museum, the Safe House, my dream is for other people to say, 'You have to go to the Landmark, it's the oldest bar in Milwaukee,'" she said.

The three brothers will remain owners of the business and building. Garcia will operate it and will have the opportunity to become an owner after five years of operation.

The Halsers had previously auctioned off many antiques belonging to their father, but Halser said none came from Landmark, which will look similar to how it was when it closed, but with the addition of some wooden booths.

"Old buildings take on a life of their own. It's not a matter of anything being new, it’s a matter of saving the place and keeping it old like it was," Halser said.

They also will implement a new point of sale system so the pub can print itemized receipts for the first time, in addition to displaying and possibly using their father's three early-1900s cash registers.

"It's really amazing to me, this old bar, it seems like the place just holds a special place in a lot of people's hearts," Halser said.

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Halser said they also are looking for operators to take over The Terminal. His father had remodeled it to be a brewpub before he ultimately scrapped the idea for a dining hall and beer garden. Halser is hoping a new brewery might want to expand to the building. They also are looking for an operator of Port of Hamburg.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: One of Milwaukee's oldest bars, Landmark 1850 Inn, to reopen in 2024