Beloved Milwaukee Businesses from the Past

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Photo via Ned's Pizza - Facebook

Ned's Pizza - Exterior Sign

Ned's Pizza exterior sign

Dutchland Dairy

The radio jingle “Dutchland Dairy, more than a dairy, more than a dairy store” reminded us that the combination restaurant and deli had the famous haystack of shredded onion rings that went with a great burger. The deli had milk in brown bottles, as well as Dutchland eggs, ice cream and other dairy items. Local entrepreneur Joe Clark saw the potential of Dutchland Dairy in 1935 and opened one at 20th and Capitol. He expanded to 60th and Bluemound, 54th and Center, 39th and National, 78th and Burleigh, and Appleton and Fond du Lac Avenue to name a few. Many Dutchland Dairy stores closed by 1980 because all the deli items became available in supermarkets. One of Clark’s first employees, Paul Gillis, left Dutchland to open Gilles Custard at 77th and Bluemound.

Moon Fun Shop

Anyone looking for fake cigarettes, bloody soap or whoopie cushions went to the Moon Fun Shop on Wisconsin Avenue. Rubber monster masks, blacklight bulbs and day-glo Hendrix posters decorated the walls. The shop also carried the classic velvet painting of a nude woman with her foot on a dead tiger. Inside the “Must Be 18 to Enter” section were counter-culture items such lava lamps, scented candles, hash pipes and anti-Nixon lapel pins. Local magicians recalled buying their first magic tricks as kids. There was also a Moon Fun Shop at Southgate shopping center. Both stores closed about 1981.

Johnny Walker’s

Johnnie Walker's, famous for unique men’s clothing, began in 1927 with two locations, one at 10th and Mitchell and the other at Third and Wells. Walker's became well-known for selling wild suits in flashy colors.  “I loved that Superfly played at a theater near the store,” a former customer said. “The movie was free advertising for them.” They opened stores in West Allis, Waukesha and Capitol Court shopping center. In 1969, Walker’s closed the satellite locations and focused on the Wisconsin Avenue store. “We’ve always been on the cutting edge of fashion," said owner Jay Kodner. “But customer demographics changed as people who once shopped in Downtown began going to the malls.” Jerry Feldman was a musician in the Saints Five group. “This was when local band members dressed alike,” he said. “Walker's sold the latest fashion looks to the groups.”

Wooden Nickel

In the 1970s, rock club impresario Joe Balestrieri operated the Stone Toad on Broadway and Humpin' Hannah's on E. Locust Street. He also sold blue jeans at rock-bottom prices out of stores called Wooden Nickel. At the same time, concert promoter Alan Dulberger had just opened 1812 Overture, a 900 square-foot counterculture record and tape outlet at 1433 E. Brady Street. Dulberger opened a satellite 1812 in Balestrieri’s Wooden Nickel on Silver Spring Drive. When Dulberger moved the Brady Street record store to a 4,000 square-foot location two blocks away, Balestrieri opened a Wooden Nickel inside the store. Balestrieri sold jeans for $5.99 and $6.99. Customers were given an old-fashioned wooden nickel token for 10% off on a return visit.  

Capitol Court Shopping Center

Capitol Court was an open-air mall that debuted to great fanfare in 1956. One of the city’s first large retail centers, the mall covered nearly 60 acres at the northeast corner of 60th and Capitol Drive. Attractions included the Kooky Cooky House, which opened in 1960. Kids watched the animated robot move back and forth with cookie ingredients. Santa gave a cookie and a coloring book to each visitor.

At Easter, the mall featured “The Little Farm” for kids. Rabbits, goats, farm animals, sometimes a llama were incorporated into the display. The summer amusement park in the parking lot was called Kiddie Land when it opened in the late ‘50s and then renamed Fun Town. Ride tickets were purchased for the roller coaster, Wild Mouse, electric cars and merry-go-round. The mall closed around 2000 due to declining sales

Mayfair Mall Ice Chalet

Dennis Ervin was the director of the Mayfair mall skating rink from 1973 until it closed in March 1986. The Ice Chalet was popular with families, adult skating groups and skaters who went on to work in the big arena ice shows. A World Figure Skater and one Olympic competitor used the rink to practice when they were just starting out. The McDonald’s restaurant was situated above the rink and diners loved the view. The restaurant also hosted about 500 hundred skating and birthday parties each year.

“The rink itself is still there,” said Ervin. “It’s eight feet under the main floor with scores of shoppers walking over it every day” he said.  “If you know the right hallway in Mayfair’s center court, you can still see the rink.” 

Peaches Records & Tapes

In the mid-1970s, the Los Angeles-based Peaches Records and Tapes chain opened a Milwaukee branch inside a former Red Owl grocery store. The 10,000 square-foot store stocked more than $2.2 million in inventory (adjusted for today’s equivalent currency). The store became known for meet-and-greet events with artists like the Charlie Daniels Band, Head East and a full performance by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

By 1981, the Peaches chain owed their creditors $150 million and went into bankruptcy. The vacant store at Silver Spring & Fond du Lac Avenue later became Mainstream Records.

Radio Doctors Records & Tapes

The legendary record shop at Third and Wells Streets opened in 1929 as a radio repair shop in 1929 by Lazaar Glassman. As World War II began, Glassman’s son Stuart began carrying phonograph records, which were gaining in popularity. Radio Doctors opened stores on N. Third Street and added glass-enclosed soundproof booths to help customers choose the records they liked. For five decades, the downtown store claimed to be one of the largest records and tape outlets in the country. But the store, unable to compete with technology and the way people bought music, closed in 1991.

Ned’s Pizza

In 1959 Ned Hewitt saw a niche in the growing fast-food market and opened the first Ned’s Pizza at 34th and Villard near Winkie’s Variety Store. The family opened another five locations and sold franchises to investors after Hewitt became ill. In 1969, businessmen Bob Mayer and Don Strack were operating a Chicken Delight when they saw an opportunity with Ned’s. They opened a franchise restaurant on S. 27th Street near Southgate shopping mall. Mayer and Strack used Hewitt’s original method of making their own sauce and pizza dough in the kitchen. In addition to the popular thin crust pizzas, passerby loved seeing the chefs twirling pizza dough through the front window.

More than 50 years later, the S. 27th Street restaurant is the only Ned’s still in operation.