Photo by Jim McCann
Wiggle Room Sign
Combining the classic corner bar feel with a uniquely curated ambiance, Wiggle Room (2988 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) in Bay View is an all-vinyl listening lounge and the perfect nightlife destination for record heads and music lovers alike. Opened in summer 2024, Wiggle Room is your go-to spot for eclectic DJ nights, with local and touring entertainers behind the decks every day of the week. Its vast library of thousands of records spans a wide range of styles and genres, including rock, jazz, hip hop, soul, funk, R&B, disco and lots more, plus niche items like soundtracks and compilations for specialty nights. Wiggle Room opens every day at 4 p.m.
Photo by Jim McCann
Wiggle Room Bar
The bar at the Wiggle Room
Co-owner Chris Schulist assures, “You’re not going to beat our hip hop selection … you just won't.” DJs at Wiggle Room are welcome to play anything in the house collection they want, plus they can bring in their own records. Recent DJ nights have included Metal Mondays, Dope Folks Records ‘80s & ‘90s Classic Hip Hop Spin, The Get Down Funk & Soul Dance Party and Amorphous Blob’s Halloween Soundtrack night.
“Cat Power's guitarist Erik DJ’ed here off the house vinyl and played “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” by Motley Crue,” Schulist remembers. “I think that was the first time we’d heard that here, and it was banging loud!”
Impressive Variety
On the drink side of things, Wiggle Room features a broad beer, cocktail and wine selection as well as an impressive variety of Japanese whiskeys—a nod to Japanese listening room culture that the bar takes inspiration from. In accordance with its values of inclusivity, Wiggle Room also has a splendid array of non-alcoholic options. “With the whole idea of everyone being welcome, we wanted to have a place where you didn’t feel like you had to drink,” co-owner Jim McCann says. “A lot of people are shifting away from alcohol, so I think we have one of the largest NA menus in the whole city.”
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McCann and Schulist met while playing in touring punk rock bands—The Baseball Furies and The Mistreaters, respectively. The two became good friends and bonded over having similar views on how bars and restaurants should be run. “It needs to be fun, and it needs to be welcoming to everyone,” McCann affirms. They would eventually open The Vanguard (2659 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) in 2014, serving Wisconsin comfort food in the form of gourmet sausages as well as fried favorites like cheese curds, tofu and poutine, while featuring extensive beer, cocktail and whiskey lists at the bar.
“We were both working as bar managers, and it felt like our time to have our own place,” Schulist explains about Vanguard. “You can eat cheap here or you can eat expensive here, but the whole thing is inclusive to everybody.”
Music Fans
Years went by, and the two debated whether to open a second Vanguard or something entirely new. “Right before COVID, we got really close to doing Vanguard 2 and then it fell through, which was probably a blessing,” McCann recalls. “Chris and I are both huge music fans; and one idea we had always kicked around was a vinyl bar.”
Photo by Jim McCann
Wiggle Room DJ Booth
The DJ booth at Wiggle Room
In fact, Schulist is a DJ who performs as Christreater, and he is locally known for his enormous record collection. “My uncle was a huge record collector, and he’s kind of the reason I got into it,” he shares. “He left me his collection when he passed away, so I needed somewhere to put these anyway because they weren’t going to fit in my house.”
Inspired by similar places across the country like Gold Line in Los Angeles and Equipment Room in Austin, McCann and Schulist acquired the old Lee’s Luxury Lounge spot in 2023, just down the street from Vanguard, and gradually developed it into their dream bar. They named it Wiggle Room as an ode to the listening lounges of bygone eras.
While keeping much of the existing infrastructure intact, McCann and Schulist decided to devote an entire wall to a mammoth DJ booth furnished with state-of-the-art equipment, built from beneath the floor so that vibrations from the adjacent dance floor do not cause records to skip. Then they put in shelves to house records behind both the DJ booth and bar.
Milwaukee Music
“75 percent of the records were my uncle’s,” Schulist notes. The rest mostly came from record labels the owners are friends of. “The benefit of being musicians for so long is that buddies have given us every record they’ve put out,” McCann mentions. “Local bands will drop their records off, so we have a cool all-Milwaukee section.”
The two men enlisted sound engineer and close friend John Dykstra—now also business partner of Wiggle Room—to fully soundproof the bar with wood paneling and bass traps. “If we’re going to be playing only records, it’s got to sound good,” Schulist reckons. “If you’ve got tin ceilings or something, the sound’s going to bounce all around.”
They also populated the space with enough seating for patrons to always find their own nooks to hang out in, even during crowded nights. “It was also important that the music wouldn't have to be super loud to be able to hear it, so you could have a conversation and still hear everything,” McCann adds, which is why Dykstra also installed volume control for different areas of the bar.
Other features include a few arcade games and Wiggle Room t-shirts for sale designed by McCann’s wife Sarah, who also designed the bar’s overhead sign as well as posters dotting the walls. There are no TVs, for good reason. “Without TVs, you kind of get lost in the time there,” Schulist observes. “I love how no matter what, the conversation always moves to music and records. If we’re playing a weird funk-jazz record or something, it gets people talking.”
Although it is not a priority, Wiggle Room does occasionally host live music. Currently, Long Line Riders play a Honky-Tonk Happy Hour the second Friday of every month. “The best venue—Cactus Club—is right down the street, but we’ll do it if it fits the vibe,” Schulist contends. “We’d rather be where a band DJs after they play a show.”
The owners would also like to say “Rest in Peace” to their business partner John Kuester, AKA Kid Millions, who helped them open the bar and contributed numerous great records to the Wiggle Room library.
As of late, Wiggle Room upgraded their POS system to be more efficient and customer friendly. One of the owners’ goals is to start having food trucks outside the bar. In the meantime, Schulist will be constantly collecting new records for the place. “The Cars have become a big band at Wiggle Room,” he laughs. DJs interested in playing can get in touch at https://wiggleroommke.com/#contact.
