Photo Credit: Andi Loppnow
There’s plenty of thirst to go around in Milwaukee for craft cocktail lounges, microbrew tasting rooms, wine bars and neighborhood corner taps to successfully coexist, particularly in the Bay View neighborhood. While the traditional Milwaukee corner taps aren’t as plentiful today as they were prior to the ’90s, bars like The Newport (also known as Frank’s Newport, 939 E. Conway St.) have stayed prominent by keeping the friendliness and authenticity of classic Milwaukee corner taps while offering choices like craft brews that please the more experimental palates of today’s drinkers.
“We try to stay right in the middle,” says Newport owner Franky Creed, who has owned the bar since 2005. “We expanded our beer lines from eight to 16. The two main line beers are Miller and Schlitz, and the rest are microbreweries and craft beers. We keep pace with the more exotic places, but with prices that are a little more reasonable.”
The green-sided tavern has been known as The Newport or The Newport Lounge since the mid-’70s and is believed to be the only neighborhood tavern in that pocket of Bay View to operate under the same name for more than four decades. Creed had tended bar at Slim McGinn’s and later worked at The Newport when it was owned by Lance Dornbrook and Sheila Firari. Today, Creed’s son, Tim, is a partner, and he’s come up with marketing ideas like sports team sponsorship. “We sponsor sports teams all year long—volleyball, softball, kickball, basketball—and that helps on slower nights; then the bar fills up for no good reason,” Creed says.
Owning a well-established bar has been a lot of fun, Creed says, and they draw a diverse crowd. “We have a great day business, with day drinkers, contractors and some retired people,” he says. “At 6 p.m., we have a shift change, and it’s like you flipped a switch. Then, we get people in their 20s and 30s, and lots of millennials.” Many of The Newport’s customers are neighborhood residents, but on weekends, the bar is a destination for people throughout the city.
In traditional corner tap fashion, the lighting is low, and the central bar layout means there’s not a bad seat in the house for socializing and people-watching. There’s a large mural on one of the paneled walls, and customers might recognize images of Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe—but who are the others in the mural?
“[Previous owner] Sheila had it painted, and they dispersed celebrities with friends of theirs. The artist Jennifer Espenschied herself is in there; her mother is in there, along with Lance, Sheila and a friend of theirs who looks like Ernest Hemingway. But everyone thinks it’s Ernest Hemingway,” Creed explains. “It’s a nice talking point.”
The Newport is renowned for its large Packers parties with impressive buffets. Prior to game day, Creed chooses a main dish, and customers coordinate to bring side dishes. Creed also holds food contests during the Packers season. The Sunday, Dec. 15, Packers-Bears noon matchup features a chili cook-off, with tasting to take place during halftime. The Packers parties draw about 60 to 70 people per game. Creed puts a TV out on the patio for overflow.
Many customers also come to visit Creed, who is pleasant, soft-spoken and quick with a quip. Creed was the guest of honor this past April at Sugar Maple’s annual Celebrity Roast, which honors well-known people throughout Bay View. “It was flattering that they chose me,” Creed says. The lively afternoon included a parade from Sugar Maple back to The Newport after the event.
For more information, visit facebook.com/TheNewportBayView.
