By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published May 26, 2023 at 9:01 AM

The new Sprecher pop-up taproom is now open in the former Sprecher-branded restaurant at Bayshore, and a grand opening event has been announced for May 31.

This time around, Sprecher Brewery is running the taproom, 5869 N. Bayshore Dr. It only lent its name in a licensing deal to the restaurant and pub that operated in the space for six years from 2013.

In more recent times, the space operated as a Tap Yard beer garden location.

The YardX

The grand opening event takes place Wednesday, May 31, at 3 p.m. with free re-usable 20-ounce cups for the first 50 guests – fill them up all summer for $6 per drink – plus BOGO Sprecher Brewery tour passes and a Sprecher key chains.

There will also be drawings for Sprecher Root Beer for a year, a free stainless steel growler and free beer, hard soda or soda fill cards, a free brewery tour and free drink tokens. (There will be multiple winners in a number of these drawings.)

The taproom, which will operate all summer long, faces right out into the main gathering space at Bayshore, called The Yard, where the Sounds of Summer concert series – emceed by OnMilwaukeeans like my colleagues and myself – takes place on Friday.

It will be open 3-8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; Fridays, 3-10; Saturdays. 11 a.m.-10; and Sundays, 11-6. It will remain open until the end of baseball games and 1 hour after live music Fridays. On nights when there are events, it will remain open until the end of the event.

There will be snacks like cheese, pretzels, popcorns and more. And, of course, beer and hard and soft sodas.

It’ll likely be a great place to try the new limited-edition Door County Cherry, made with Grade A Montmorency cherries from Door County’s Cherry De-Lite orchards. The new soda – which launches June 1 – will also be available in 16-ounce cans at retail, beginning June 5.

But, as the new soda is limited, it may not be there long!

"Glendale is our brewery’s official home, and we are excited to again be partnering with Bayshore to offer our great products to the people of Greater Milwaukee," said Sprecher President and CEO Sharad Chadha, when the taproom was announced a few weeks ago.

"There is nothing better in summer than coming out to a free concert and enjoying one of our great craft beers or sodas. It’s a true Wisconsin treat!"

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.