After a year of remodeling, Satchmo’s Bar & Grill is open. Located inside the former Baby Boomer’s, 182 E. Lincoln Ave., Satchmo’s is a casual corner tavern offering lunch, dinner (including a Friday fish fry), weekend brunch and a full bar.
The space is simple and clean, with a dozen or so tables, a vintage bar and a patio. Owner Sam Burazin doesn’t want to over-define the concept.
“It’s a place to meet up with friends or stop in for a few beers and watch a game,” he says. “But it’s also a place where you can have a nice dinner or brunch.”
Despite its no-frills interior, Burazin and crew did an incredible amount of deep cleaning, dry walling, bathroom remodeling, kitchen overhauling and restoration work of the original bar and coolers.
"It's been a lot of work, but we're really happy with the results," says Burazin.
Satchmo’s first fish fry takes place Friday, Jan. 19, featuring the classic Baby Boomer’s recipe. Starting next Friday, three other fish plates will be added to the menu.
A grand opening celebration will take place Saturday, Jan. 20 from 10 a.m. to bar time. The Bucks vs. Pistons game will air on the many flat screens at 2 p.m. followed by the Packers game at 7:15 p.m. Food and drink specials include a Miller High Life or Miller Light buckets with a half-pound of ham and six rolls for $15.
“And of course, we will have touchdown shots,” says Burazin.
Satchmo’s regular menu will include burgers, wings, pulled pork, Cuban sandwiches, nachos, Shiitake potstickers, tater tots, a cheese curd flight and Burazin’s signature homemade chili.
“We will have one of the best chilis in the city,” says Burazin.
The brunch menu remains a work in progress, but Burazin says it will include an eggs Benedict, waffles and classic breakfast options.
“Eventually, I want to offer more vegan and vegetarian food,” he says. “I love meat – it’s my favorite food group – but I feel better when I don’t eat too much of it.”
The bar features a wide selection of beer and seltzers in bottles and cans. Burazin is working on a cocktail menu with an emphasis on whiskey, which is Burazin’z drink of choice.
“It's not fancy, but – the food, the drink – it’s gonna be really good,” says Burazin.
Burazin, who grew up in Bay View, named the bar and grill “Satchmo’s” because it was a nickname given to him by his late father.
“My dad was a huge baseball fan and Satchel Paige was his favorite. He started out calling me ‘Satch' when I was a little kid, and as I got older he’d say to me when I walked into a room, ‘What do you know, Satchmo?’” says Burazin.
Satchmo's Bar & Grill is open Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to close; Saturday from 10 a.m. to close and Sunday from 8 a.m. to close.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
