As a bar, there were many, many things wrong with Sweeny's, the Irish pub that used to occupy the small but workable space at 518 N. Water St.
It was out of date, dumpy and did nothing to complement the stylish new boutiques and salons that have popped up along its shared stretch of Water Street. But perhaps topping the list of the Downtown bar's offenses was the large patch of dirty carpeting that had spent years covering a sea of hardwood.
Fortunately, when Tim Mokry and his business partner Shane Crawford stepped up to buy, renovate and re-open the dying drinking hole as the new Six Degrees earlier this year, the carpeting was the first thing to go.
"Sweeny's was like your typical neighborhood ma-and-pa bar, but the more we looked at it, we realized we'd be able to redo it and make it nice," says Mokry.
Six Degrees has now been open since May 18 and although the structure stands exactly as it has for decades, you'd hardly recognize the place as the dank dive it used to be. It's been gutted and cleaned and now, freshly painted red walls bring out the auburn tones in the majestic mahogany bar that cascades down the long, narrow room.
Where the bar ends, a staircase walks guests up to an elevated loft space that looks down across the room below -- an area that Mokry plans to establish as a rentable, candle-lit VIP area for private parties. But even on nights when the loft is not rented out, he promises it to be a safe drinking haven from rail liquor.
With updated versions of 19th century Swiss design, the entire space is rich with warmth and style. Mokry knew exactly what he wanted to do with his bar, and he should -- he's been running and managing them for a decade, including Brothers in La Crosse in the late '90s, Luther's Blues in Madison and Chicago's Tre, which opened three months ago in Wrigleyville.
"We don't want it to be like Brothers or McGillycuddy's, but we also don't want to be a total yuppie, high-end bar either," says Mokry. "We want to be somewhere in the middle, and that's how we came up with the name Six Degrees. It's a reference to the connection between Water Street Downtown and the Third Ward -- the middle ground of separation. We don't want to be stuffy, but we also don't want guys puking in the corner."
Featuring a fully stocked bar -- though no blender drinks -- and a generous happy hour (4-8 p.m. with half-priced martinis) Mokry is hoping Six Degrees becomes an after-work destination for the Downtown young professional crowd. The rest of the week boasts drink specials galore, including a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar on Sundays.
And despite its Water Street locale, parking is surprisingly not horrendous. Mokry mentions offering valet, and the huge parking structure across the street, as well as the Milwaukee Public Market lot a block south, are both viable options.
Six Degrees is open at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Stay tuned to OMC for info on the grand opening.
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.”
