Every month at Five O’Clock Steakhouse, where I am managing partner, we donate a portion of sales to a nonprofit organization working to help make the Milwaukee community better. This month, we’re adding a new one to the rotation: our neighbor The New State Theater, 2616 W. State St.
The State Theater opened as a movie house in 1915, a role it served for 40 years. Later it was home to a social club and then a series of music clubs that hosted the likes of U2, The Police, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, Dire Straits, The Pretenders, Huey Lewis & The News, Megadeth, The Replacements, Duran Duran, The Stray Cats, Joan Jett, The Ramones and many others.
But for years it’s been shuttered and in 2018 it suffered a fire. But, still, a nonprofit is working to bring the theater back to life as a community music hub for all ages with an all-ages music venue, rentable recording studios, classes and workshops in music and performance, and a storefront where aspiring musicians and artists can sell their wares.
A community park has already been built on a vacant lot next door and a new cafe is set to open in the building soon.
As its website notes, “The New State will uplift a city block, creating public space, cultural infrastructure, and economic opportunity, while empowering our youth through self-governance and self-expression.”
We’re proud to support this effort right in our neighborhood focused not only on music, which is especially dear to my heart as a performing musician, but also on uplifting the community through the arts.
Make your reservations and help us help The New State complete its exciting plan: (414) 342-3553.
For more on The New State, visit www.newstatemke.org.
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Stelio Kalkounos
Managing Partner – Five O’ Clock Steakhouse
Hospitality Consultant
Guitarist / Songwriter