Romans' Pub will only be open sporadically as owner and 'godfather' of craft beer enters hospice care
Romans' Pub, a Bay View bar famous for its early and expansive lineup of craft beers, will be open more sporadically as owner Mike Romans enters hospice care.
The bar at 3475 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. will remain open as much as possible, but only on weekends when Romans' friends are available to tend the bar he stood behind for more than 40 years.
For the last four years, Romans has battled esophageal and upper stomach cancer that spread to his lungs and brain. He also had his right leg amputated as a result of Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a degenerative nerve disease that has plagued him for years.
That didn't stop him. He quickly figured out how to tend bar with his prosthetic leg, and that bout of cancer was "mostly under control."
Then, earlier this year, Romans learned a new cancer had formed in his jaw.
"I consulted with two of my oncologists and my dentist, and they all said, 'I don't know if you want to go through this. It's long and painful. I don't know if your body can handle it anymore,' " Romans said. "We came to the conclusion to be done."
It's not that he's giving up. He'll turn 70 in August and the bar will be 45 in December, both milestones that he wants to experience.
"I would like to be the big hero, but it's going to be weeks and weeks and painful, so nah, I'm done," Romans said. "I just don’t want to disappoint anyone."
A no-nonsense, family-like beer bar
Romans' Pub opened on Dec. 1, 1978, in an 1800s building that once served as a Schlitz tied house. For the bar's first couple decades, it didn't have the specialty beers it has become known for. But in 1996, Romans said, he got into a fight with his Miller distributor, so he went searching for new beer.
"They said, 'You'll never last long without Miller,' " Romans recalled. "How do you like me now?"
Romans switched his focus to mostly import beers and was on top of the craft beer trend as it spread across the nation.
Today, his craft beer lineup is a draw for customers to the bar where he handwrites the beer list. His no-nonsense attitude either keeps customers or drives them away.
"If you were there and being irresponsible or creating a scene, or creating drama, he didn’t tolerate that," said Chris Lisiak, a longtime patron of Romans' Pub. "I always respected him for that."
She said Romans never worried about online reviews, and that his strictness always made the bar "cozy, charming and comfortable," for customers.
"It felt kind of family-like," she said. "You didn’t know everybody in the bar, but you could start talking to the person next to you without worrying about some drama."
For decades, Lisiak went to Romans' Pub with a group of friends that included Wade Grubich, who lived up the street from the bar.
He first walked in on Christmas Eve in 1980 because Romans' was the only bar open. Fifteen years later, after serving in the military, he returned.
"I kept coming in, and I've been there ever since," he said.
Over the years he became such good friends with Romans that they traveled together, everywhere from the Bahamas to Rosemont, Illinois, for a special cigar shop.
And of course you could often find them at Romans' Pub.
"There's quite a few of us who would go there to hang out with Mike," Grubich said. "Unfortunately now with Mike being so sick, the only thing we hold onto are the memories."
Kate Grohall also has fond memories from her time spent at the bar.
One of her favorites is when Romans had her, a "non-beer drinker," try an imported beer — a Delirium Tremens from Belgium.
"It's the first craft beer I had, and it's still my favorite beer," she said.
Delirium's logo features a pink elephant. When Romans managed to get the beer on draft, the tapper came with a ceramic pink elephant that sat on top.
"I just admired it, and I told him how much I loved it," Grohall said.
When he was tapped out, he gave the handle to Grohall.
"As soon as we finish building out our basement bar, that (tapper) will be front and center," she said as she choked up.
Respect for the godfather of craft beer in Milwaukee
Outside of friends and regulars, Romans also gained much respect from the craft beer community in Milwaukee.
Eagle Park Brewing Co. created a beer called "The Godfather" in his honor, with the proceeds going to help Romans after he was diagnosed with cancer in December 2019.
1840 Brewery did the same, with a beer named "Open, Not Welcome."
"Brewed in collaboration with the man who started it all. Mike Romans was the first person to bring craft beer to Milwaukee and for that we must pay our respects to The Godfather himself," reads a description of the beer on Untappd. "If he bounces you he may say something like 'The sign says open, not welcome.' We crafted this IPA to have as much flavor as Mike has personality."
Champp's Americana Brookfield, Sugar Maple and Steny's Tavern, all craft beer bars in direct competition with Romans' Pub, also raised money for him.
"It showed me how much everyone cared," Romans said. "I went to the one at Champps. It was packed."
Romans does not have an exact prognosis for his cancer, but he is preparing for after he is gone. He is selling his prized 1967 Ford Shelby GT350. He has "enough in the kitty" to keep the bar running.
"And then I'm just going to leave what I have to disperse around my family and donate money to the MACC Fund and cancer research," he said.
He is open to selling the bar, but the caveat is they will have to allow him to continue living upstairs, where he would like to live for whatever time he has left.
For now, the plan is for Romans' to be a "pop-up" bar on weekends. Romans will post when the bar is open on Facebook (facebook.com/romanspub), and he plans to make appearances when he is feeling well enough.
Patrons can follow Romans' Pub on Facebook, where Romans will post when the bar is open. The plan is for it to be a "pop-up" bar on weekends.
"I'm resigned to the fact. I'm not sad or anything. I just feel like I'm disappointing a lot of people by not being here to serve them," he said. "It is what it was, and it was an era."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bay View's Romans' Pub closed most days as owner's health declines
