Some Milwaukee things come and go while some become icons. Mandatory Milwaukee is all about the latter. This week: Those “I Closed Wolski’s” stickers!
Wolski’s Tavern is nothing short of a Milwaukee institution. Since opening in 1908, the East Side establishment located at 1836 N. Pulaski St. has served as a trusty and timeless place to grab a drink, enjoy some free popcorn, and shoot darts. It might not be fancy or on pace with most (or any) trends, but that inimitable charm has been a large part of the equation that has kept Wolski’s going strong for more than 115 years.
The place is honestly deserving of “Mandatory Milwaukee” status on its own, but the iconic local bar’s significance is actually overshadowed by a souvenir that’s directly associated with visiting said watering hole at a specific time of night. We’re of course referring to the “I Closed Wolski’s” sticker.
As you might be able to glean from the text itself, this stickable keepsake is earned by being at Wolski’s at the end of the night. When closing time comes around, anyone still in the building is offered a free 3.75″ by 7.5″ sticker announcing the early a.m. accomplishment on their way out the door. Though dozens of folks get one pretty much every night the bar is open, what people decide to do with their “I Closed Wolski’s” sticker varies greatly.
True to the item’s name, many of these bumper stickers wind up affixed to the back of vehicles. We’ve also seen a fair amount of them on guitar amps belonging to local musicians, in the bathrooms at other area bars, displayed in basement bars and garage fridges, and plastered on personal garbage bins.
Others wind up stuck to a variety of public places, such as walls, poles, dumpsters, and electrical boxes.
And you’re bound to see a bunch within post-bar-close stumbling distance from Wolski’s throughout Milwaukee’s East Side.
While some are eager to part with their brand new sticker within minutes of receiving it, others opt to hold onto theirs until the right occasion comes along. Through the years, the world has learned about the existence of a historic little neighborhood tavern tucked away on a side street a few blocks off Brady Street from stickers displayed at bars all over the nation (including the one above that was spotted at The Washout in Folly Beach, SC), throughout Europe, and in countless other exotic locales that have been visited by bold Milwaukeeans who are able to covertly spread the Wolski’s Tavern gospel.
The sticker was even stuck to The Boat earlier this year, meaning its legend has spread to the shores of the Great Lakes (and later the salvage yard). Sure, there have been many imitators, but no other bar sticker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or potentially anywhere else is able to match the ubiquity nor the levels of local pride of the classic “I Closed Wolski’s” sticker, a prize earned at bar close and displayed worldwide.