Wisconsin’s oldest gay bar – co-owned by Trixie Mattel – closes

Wisconsin’s oldest gay bar, co-owned by Drag Race legend Trixie Mattel, has announced its official closure months before its 57th anniversary.

This Is It!, the bar co-owned by RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars winner Trixie Mattel and business partner George Schneider, closed suddenly on 9 March, just months before what would have been its 57th anniversary.

In a statement posted to social media, Schneider confirmed that the closure is due to monetary issues, caused by COVID, “coupled with the 8 month closure of our street.”

The bar, which was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened in 1968, and was been the oldest continually running gay bar in the state, through its founder, June Brehm, and her son, Joseph. Schneider first started working as a bartender at This Is It! in 2010, before acquiring it in 2012.

This Is It! was effectively saved from closure by Trixie in 2021, after she stepped in to partner with Schneider; she credits the gay bar as the first she visited after turning 21.

The full statement shared on Instagram and Facebook (and posted to X by drag fan account @Drag_Crave) reads as follows:

“This summer would have been the 57th anniversary of This is It!. Unfortunately, that celebration will not come to pass. As of today, we have closed our doors permanently. The COVID crisis and the years following 2020, coupled with the 8 month closure of our street and sidewalk last year, put the business in a position that we could not ultimately overcome.

“We would like to thank all the staff, performers, and friends who made the magic of This is It! happen over the years. We also thank everyone in the community for the many years of loyal patronage. This is It! has been so much more than a nightlife spot for the queer community. It has been a gathering place, a safe place, a second home, and the memories made at the bar will stay in our hearts forever. We want you to know that we did everything we could to keep our doors open for you.

“One last time, we honor our founders June and Joseph Brehm. While they are no longer with us, they would have been fighting the last few years along side us. Their memory and legacy lives on in our hearts too.

“It’s with much sadness, but with so much love, we bid all of you farewell. Take care of each other, and please continue to support local and queer-owned businesses.”

This is It!, the Milwaukee bar announced to be co-owned by Trixie Mattel in 2021, has sadly announced their closing.

The location was the oldest queer bar in Wisconsin and is closing just months before their 57th anniversary. pic.twitter.com/reiudURNLw

— Drag Crave (@Drag_Crave) March 10, 2025

Schneider also shared a personal message to his own socials, attributing the bar’s “shocking” closure to COVID and local work that prohibited entry to the bar.

“Let it be a reminder to continue to support local businesses however we can. We are all at risk in this unstable world. Sentiment, nostalgia, and memories don’t pay the bills,” he said of the Trixie Mattel-co-owned bar. Mattel has made two YouTube videos in the bar.

“The bar had been struggling for some time. After I went all-in on the expansion in 2019, the bar was forced to shut down for COVID. This nearly forced us to go under, but we survived. We were then challenged by endless annual construction – the streetcar, park upgrades, utilities, and the other projects beyond our control. We also have had no neighbors for nearly all the time. We never had an opportunity to fully recover.

“Last year’s closure of our street and sidewalk for nearly 8 months was something the bar did not ultimately survive. I held on as long as I could. We did our best, and we tried. I have given This Is It! my blood, sweat, tears, and every last dollar I had to try and keep it afloat. I gave the bar my all — literally everything — and I am proud of that. I just wish it was enough to keep us open.”

The statement continues: “I don’t know what’s next for me. I’m nervous to start over. Closing the bar was never part of the plan. After being so dedicated to something, it’s difficult to conceive of what’s next – but I remember that adversity rapidly reminds us of our strengths. Being so completely immersed in the bar and nightlife culture, I have forgotten many of those strengths, my accomplishments, and the experience that allowed me get where I am. I look forward to rediscovering these parts of me.

“I am also thinking a lot about the people that I’ve worked with up until today. It weighs heavy with me. Their worlds have been upended by the closure too, so please support them however you can. I am eternally grateful for all of them, and owe them so much.

“In closing, I wish all the best to our queer community, our performance community, our staff at the bar over the years, and to our loyal patrons who kept us going – even when things got rough. You were the magic of it all for me. I’ll be seeing you. Thank you.”

Schneider also elaborated in a separate statement that “the money ran out” – and that there was no other tea. He added that he did not ask Trixie Mattel to self-fund the bar, given that his own funding “temporarily created a cushion, but the problem did not go away.”

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