Although its one-word name sounds as if it could compete for the club crowd of places like Cush, Eve or Three, the East Side's Circa just isn't that kind of bar. About a block and a half north of Brady Street, Circa, 1754 N. Franklin Pl., is tucked comfortably into a residential neighborhood and is even slightly difficult to distinguish among the houses lining the street.
And with the exception of the long bar to your left as you enter, the inside of the bar, with it's soft light, warm colors, comfortable chairs -- there's even a large wooden dining room table in the back -- is, stylistically, not too different from any artsy living space.
Antique collectables and old lamps replace the usual neon beer advertisement bar décor and music running the gamut from Pink Floyd to the Police, the Doors to AC/DC is at a comfortable volume, encouraging conversation rather than suppressing it.
A walk through the door gets you -- more nights than not -- a warm welcome from bartender Bob Jilbert, who has been slinging drinks from behind the bar since it opened in 2001.
"The place has a nice neighborhood feel to it, so I like say hello to everyone and introduce myself," he says.
Jason Toffler owns the place -- formerly The Schmidt House -- which has been used as a tavern since it was built in 1888. Time may have proven its place in the Milwaukee bar scene, but an evening at Circa nevertheless manages to feel more like you've stopped at a friend's house for a few drinks and good conversation rather than a night out on the town.
"I've actually had to call people in from the street," says Jilbert. "I was yelling out the door that we were in fact a bar and we were open."
With no brew on tap, customers choose from a slew of bottled or canned varieties from domestic brewers such as Miller, Lakefront, Sprecher and New Glarus, as well as imports like Delirium, Spaten and Guinness.
Tuesday nights at Circa have come to be known by the regular crowd as chess night. Some show up early with their own board for a relaxed game and $2 16-oz. cans of Bitburger, while the more serious players pop in sometime around 9 p.m. for a few rounds of speed chess.
Other bar-provided gaming options include boxes of Battleship, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Checkers, cards and anything else customers care to bring to the table.
Non-smoky, intimate and inviting, Circa has established itself as a refreshing alternative to the busy bar scene happening all around it.
Circa is open daily except Mondays at 3 p.m. Happy hour, which runs until 7 p.m., features a 50-cent discount on all drinks. The phone number is (414) 272-4722.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
