Photo courtesy PufferFish
PufferFish
PufferFish
“Mad Men” has been off the air since 2015, but the allure of mid-century modern lives on in furniture styles, home décor, clothing and retro cookbooks. Jc Cunningham, owner and operator of PufferFish, has captured a Hollywood-esque, mid-century modern vibe at his lounge on the roof of Hotel Metro (411 E. Mason St.). PufferFish specializes in tiki-inspired tropical cocktails, along with a small food menu.
PufferFish was born as a patio bar behind Lost Whale, the Bay View cocktail bar, during the pandemic restrictions. Cunningham, who managed Lost Whale, had an idea for a whimsical lounge three years before launching PufferFish. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world shut down in March 2020, Daniel Beres and Tripper Duval, owners of Lost Whale, turned their bar into a liquor store.
When the city of Milwaukee allowed bars and restaurants to reopen during with outdoor service only, Cunningham presented his idea. “Our staff was furloughed and we wanted to bring them back,” he says. “I pulled out my notebook with the idea for PufferFish. We built the bar collectively in about 60 days and had planned to stay open for about four months.”
A happy accident occurred when they made an error in the Tock Reservation System; the Lost Whale team failed to set the reservation calendar for the short term. “Ten months of reservations booked out in advance within eight hours!” Cunningham shares. “We added a tent and space heaters, and implemented social distancing and masking to host a pandemic tropical bar in the backyard.”
Once COVID restrictions eased, Beres and Duval wanted to put the focus back on the Lost Whale brand. PufferFish went nomadic, doing pop-ups and takeovers all over the city. Last Summer, Chef Aaron Miles of Oggie’s Kitchen & Bar, at Hotel Metro, invited PufferFish to do pop-ups on the rooftop. The first event drew more than 400 people. The bar team consisted of Cunningham, along with his bartenders Tyler and Ashley.
The hubbub caught the attention of hotel co-owner John Ogden, who invited them to a summer residency. Ogden then offered PufferFish a permanent spot on the rooftop. Cunningham signed an agreement for five years. PufferFish is now a separate entity of Lost Whale.
Tropical Drinks Any Time of the Year
While many people think tiki when talking about tropical drinks, Cunningham strove for a mid-century modern, vintage iconic look rather than a beach tiki escape. Visitors won’t find as much Polynesian but rather the clean lines and elegant simplicity of mid-century vintage. (But there are a few cool rattan and wicker patio furniture pieces.) Cunningham worked with design build firm Three Sixty for the buildout.
The permanent space, which is open year-round, has two indoor spaces with two indoor bathrooms, and outdoor spaces that are weather contingent. Even on a mild December day, people can put on their coats and still enjoy the outdoor space. There’s up to 75 seats among the two indoor rooms.
Cunningham says the drink menu is designed to take people on an adventure. It’s broken into four styles that categorized drinks by alcohol content, comforting or adventurous drinks, spiritless, and classics.
Among the classics is the Frozen Paloma, a drink infused with tequila with added decarbonated grapefruit soda. It’s put into a slush machine to freeze it. “We like taking something simple and classic like a paloma and elevate it into a cool frozen drink,” Cunningham says.
Cunningham likes to highlight classic standards that haven’t gotten a lot of love. The Saturn, an old-school classic gin cocktail, has lemon gin and is flavored with passionfruit for a light, tart taste. It’s served in a blue PufferFish glass. Cunningham has partnered with Chef Miles to offer tropical-inspired light bites such as poke, chicken kebabs and banh mi sliders.
PufferFish hours are Wednesday and Thursday 5 p.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. For more information, visit pufferfishmke.business.site or Instagram, @pufferfishtiki.
