Country Music Stars Performed at Nick’s Nicabob

Jerry Lee Lewis and other big-name performers drew the audiences, but along with success came more sleepless nights, longer hours away from home, and the kind of worries that give a man gray hair.

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The Nicabob tavern was a 12-stool dump at 26th and State Street when Nick Beaumont bought it in 1961. He sold his Conoco service station at 64th and Fond du Lac and went into the bar business. “There were broken radiators, loose pipes hanging over the bar, and pieces of linoleum missing from the floor,” he said. “I couldn’t fix any of that, so I ran it as a shot-and-beer saloon for guys in the neighborhood.” Beaumont said he worked alone in the first year, often putting in 18 hours a day behind the bar.

The history of the building dates to 1931 when bartender Ben Silverman was arrested for selling bootleg moonshine. Silverman went to the House of Corrections and an investor bought his bar for a dime on the dollar. It reopened as the Braumeister Tap.

Friends said the Nicabob looked like an aging whore caught in the morning sun. But Beaumont envisioned it as a night spot and pitched his business plan to bankers, private loan officers and potential backers. The club would feature country western bands seven nights a week. Beaumont’s proposal included restoration of the ancient dance floor and a complete overhaul of the existing bar. “The guys with money didn’t know a thing about running nightclubs,” Beaumont said. “There were already a dozen places with country music, and they couldn’t see another one turning a profit.” On paper, they were right. Wild Bill’s Windup, the Frontier Bar, the Cackle Shack and the Glass Hat lounge were proven venues with country bands. But the loan came through and Beaumont hired affordable local bands for dancing. “It didn’t happen right away,” he said. “When a $2,500 band bombed, I paid the electric bill out of my wallet.” 

For the next few years, Beaumont’s ledgers occasionally dipped into the red, and he hadn’t stopped putting in those long hours. More than a few people said he should open a go-go joint with rock and roll bands. But Nick saw the chance to distinguish his nightspot from the competition by bringing in performers from the Grand Old Opry in Nashville. Loretta Lynn and Kitty Wells had just played the Old Heidelberg tap on North Avenue, and Marty Robbins had filled the Modjeska a few years earlier, but Beaumont decided to roll the dice one more time. By the time he hired Ray Price, Conway Twitty, and Tammy Wynette, the Nicabob was four times larger than it was when he bought it. Jerry Lee Lewis and other big-name performers drew the audiences, but along with success came more sleepless nights, longer hours away from home, and the kind of worries that give a man gray hair.

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Four-Alarm Fire

And then, in February 1986, the roof came crashing down. Literally.  

A four-alarm fire destroyed the Nicabob, and five firefighters were trapped in burning debris when part of the ceiling caved in. Wisconsin Gas Company workers struggled to shut off gas valves that were frozen solid. Fire officials suspected arson because the fire spread so quickly.

Police arrested a suspect, Santiago Vargas, and a $50,000 cash bail was set. Testimony from Richard Ducey, the driver on the night of the fire, said Vargas paid him $300 to be the wheelman. Ducey said when Vargas came out of the Nicabob, his hands, face, and legs were noticeably burned. “It’s done,” he said to Ducey. “Let’s get the hell out of here”. 

Ducey drove to his home near 28th and North so Vargas could dispose of his burned clothing. Ducey’s wife, Dolores, said Vargas told her he soaked rags in a flammable chemical to start the fire. Mrs. Ducey also said she saw Vargas with a key labeled “Nick’s” a day before the fire. In his testimony, Beaumont told Assistant District Attorney Jon Reddin he didn’t know how Vargas obtained a key to the building. Reddin showed Beaumont an empty gas can found after the fire. “It doesn’t look familiar to me,” Beaumont said. 

Vargas was convicted of arson and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Even though detectives were certain Vargas was hired to set the fire, he claimed sole responsibility and no one else was ever prosecuted. 

After the fire, Beaumont moved the Nicabob to a building on West Hampton that had once been occupied by the Genova’s Pizza and Stefano’s restaurants. He moved to 3419 W. Forest home in 1988.

After providing Milwaukee with 45 years of entertainment, Nick Beaumont passed away in 2005. He was 72 years old.