Art Bar

Art Bar opened in March 2004 in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, well outside the city's traditional LGBTQ bar district. Founded by partners Don Krause and John Tomlinson, it cultivated an artsy, welcoming atmosphere centered on an island bar, with rotating exhibitions of work by local and visiting artists displayed throughout its rooms. Though it advertised to and supported the LGBTQ community, it was open to the surrounding neighborhood as a whole.

The bar was an early backer of LGBTQ groups, fundraisers, and events, including benefits for the Holiday Invitational Tournament and the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. In 2009 the owners opened a second venue, "Two Bar & Lounge," one door west, and also operated the nearby Wonderland Diner, effectively building a block of neighborhood businesses that grew from an LGBTQ-focused start.