Gibraltar MKE Thrives in New Third Ward Location

The new location for guitarist Evan Christian’s bar features everything from hip-hop to flamenco.

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Since re-opening at its new location (131 N. Jackson St.) in the Historic Third Ward, Gibraltar MKE has revived its reputation as an exemplary destination for live music and DJ nights week by week. The ornate cocktail lounge, previously located at Sixth and National in Walker’s Point, kicked off its new chapter on the first floor of the Jackson Block Apartments while retaining its distinctive environment of kaleidoscopic lights, storied artifacts and thoughtfully crafted beverages. Gibraltar is open Wednesday through Sunday at 7 p.m.

Gibraltar takes its name from the British-governed municipality on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, adjacent to Andalucía, Spain and just nine miles from Morocco. Bar owner Evan Christian had a profound experience visiting Andalucía, describing it as “a mixture of cultures.” When Christian originally opened the bar, he wanted it to evoke elements reminiscent of his travels to Andalucía, such as old regal and gold imagery, although he felt Gibraltar fit better for the name. “I wanted a house for that here in Milwaukee,” he explains.

As one walks through Gibraltar’s front door, the first thing that catches the eye is a dynamic mural of a lion topped with a crown. Among Gibraltar’s decorations are various guitars owned by Christian—almost all of which have had playing time. Other trinkets include British gold drinking plates, records and plaques, hanging paper lanterns and artificial flowers intertwined with festive lights across the ceiling. “My favorite bars are where I notice little things every time I go there,” Christian notes. TVs are mounted above the bar for those wanting to watch sports.

Musical Environment

While the first iteration of Gibraltar was often referred to as a jazz club, Christian emphasizes that the re-opened Gibraltar is not. “I’ve found that it’s difficult being just that genre, and anybody in that business will tell you that,” he elaborates. “We do have jazz shows, but we’ve branched out to create another type of environment that would appeal to people, and we have DJs all the rest of the nights who play old school, nostalgic hip hop and R&B and things like that, and we do salsa and flamenco shows.”

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Christian himself often performs at Gibraltar, and as a longtime solo artist, he has tailored the bar’s live format to be optimal for other solo artists as well. “It’s a pretty small room so people can come here and do their thing, and that’s been going really well for us,” he affirms.

On the menu, Gibraltar offers a variett of innovative cocktails, some of which are plays on music; the Ella, for example, is a take on a French 75. The bar crafts gin and tonics Spanish-style with anise and herbal flavorings. They also serve frozen pizzas, plus Christian recently purchased draft coolers in order to start serving beer. Remarking on his staff, Christian says, “Between the seven of them, they have quite a bit of experience in the service industry around town and I really couldn’t be happier.”

Christian opened the original Gibraltar in 2016, which lasted two years. “It was a wonderful time in the sense that I got my education in terms of how to run a bar,” he reflects. “There were some issues that prevented me from going long-term there, so when my lease came up for renewal, I didn’t renew it.”

Gut Decision

The new location had previously been a country bar called Saloon. Christian had been hired to play there during Summerfest a year prior to Gibraltar opening. One day, he was hanging out at his home bar Dana’s Fieldhouse when he learned of Saloon’s closure, and he was subsequently given Paul Hackbarth’s number. Christian remembers, “I called Paul the next day and didn’t even think about it…I just moved on it. It was a total gut decision.”

Signing the lease in early 2023, Christian made a few structural renovations to the space and decorated it piece by piece with memorabilia acquired from resell shops. “Everywhere I went, I would see something else I needed,” Christian laughs. “Every single thing in here I picked.” Gibraltar MKE officially re-opened that year in June.

Christian hopes to eventually expand the bar’s food options. “Whatever we do, it’ll be simple,” he reckons. “It’s the main thing people ask for when they come here, so I’d like to be able to add that, thoughtfully, in the next couple months.”

For bookings, contact evanchristianmusic@gmail.com.