Ray's Bar & Grill
Madison
Summary
Over roughly fourteen years it operated through a complicated series of relocations and name changes across three east-side locations, variously known as Geraldine's (named for Jacobson's mother), the Men's Room, Ray's Cafe, the Phoenix Patio Bar, and Jake's. At its largest, around 1997, the Geraldine's complex advertised four bars, a restaurant, a dance floor, and an outdoor patio. The business reverted to the Ray's Bar & Grill name in 1998, closed for a period around 2002, and reopened at a new E.
Washington Avenue address in 2003. It came to an abrupt end on April 9, 2007, when the bar closed and Jacobson was evicted.