Photo by Michael Burmesch
Hi-Fi Cafe - Bay View
Hi-Fi Cafe - Bay View
Bay View was once a far-away country if you lived north of Wisconsin Avenue. Before the Hoan Bridge opened in 1977, Bay View, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, slumbered in splendid isolation wedged next to Jones Island and an industrial district dominated by the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower (known locally in those days as “the Polish Moon”).
Not unlike the Third Ward, a few urban pioneers, mostly hipsters seeking low rents and retro atmosphere, began moving to Bay View in the ‘80s. The main business strip along South Kinnickinnic Avenue housed many empty storefronts in those years. I recall peering into the windows of an abandoned TV store (where Hi-Fi Café stands today) and being chased away by a cranky old man, vowing to “call the cops.”
Some Bay View businesses operating in 1981 remain, including Bay View Bowl, Club Garibaldi and Groppi’s Food Market (although owned no longer by the Groppi family). Starting in the late ‘90s, Bay View took on new life with an influx of homeowners throughout the neighborhood and businesses along the South Kinnickinnic strip. Bustling KK is now home to restaurants, bookstores, a haberdashery, a barbershop, boutiques, vintage shops and more.
