There are thousands of bars in Wisconsin. There are hundreds of bars in Milwaukee. Most of them have common themes: sports, heritages, specific types of alcohol. Some of the themes are more unique: arcades, board games, spies. But there’s only one slasher-movie-themed bar in the state. It’s called The Final Girl, and it’s located at 7546 Sheridan Rd. in Kenosha.

 

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Owner Chelsea Vecchione transformed the space into one that they felt reflected their own tastes. On the one hand, it has plenty of horror film posters and bathrooms themed after Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. On the other hand, Vecchione wanted a queer-friendly space that wouldn’t be pigeonholed as simply a “gay bar.” The concept required them to look outside the city of Milwaukee.

“I didn’t think I could make a change in Milwaukee. I didn’t think I could make my voice be heard in Milwaukee,” Vecchione says. “I loved the energy down here. I was coming down here a lot. I was just talking about my dream one day to an accountant. They were like, ‘You know, Kenosha is up and coming. We’ve got these five-year-long plans of redoing downtown.’ I just saw it as my window. If I didn’t do this now, this building wouldn’t be as affordable as it would be in two to three years.”


The bar recently held its grand opening with a mixture of prize drawings, costume contests, and prize packages. Ester Flonaze hosted a Halloween Bingo—the first of many monthly events starring the local drag icon. Vechhione is looking to start karaoke and a dart league soon. They want the bar to host typical bar events as well as unique events to give the space its own identity.

“We’ve been open a month now,” Vecchione says. “I have found my people and are still finding my people. We still have people walking in like ‘What the f…holy shit…’ The best part about it is that we are a bar first, but I have a small food menu. My best friends own Fox Den, that operates out of the Great Lakes Distillery.”

The Fox Den collaboration means a small menu that allowed Vecchione to stay focused on serving customers without having to run a full kitchen. That means loaded nachos, fries, and other classic bar food staples; easy to make, easy to share, and a messy kill after a few beers.

“They sponsor my menu,” Vecchione says. “It’s a new concept for some. You can go to Great Lake Distillery and get the wonton nachos. You can go to Great Lakes Distillery and get the wings. I didn’t take any of their burgers because the goal is to have them come down on the weekends and do a pop-up. We collaborated on the crunchwrap and the walking taco, because I refuse to not sell Velveeta cheese.”

 

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Food is one of the ways Vecchione hopes to make The Final Girl stand out—beyond the Jamie Lee Curtis photo ops and racking up high scores on the House Of The Dead arcade cabinet. Not only do they have the space for food trucks, but the bar has a small performance space. A concert headlined by Slaughter Party! is already booked for December 7.


For those still looking to squeeze in a spooky movie marathon, Vecchione offered up their five favorite scary movies. (“That’s one of my first date questions,” Vecchione says with a laugh. “That’s how you figure out somebody, right?”)

Halloween (The original, Halloween Resurrection, and H20 as franchise highlights)

Jaws

Scream

Silent Night, Deadly Night (or other obscure holiday-themed slashers like New Year’s Day)

Alien


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Rob Wieland is a contributor to the Milwaukee Record. He is an author, game designer, and professional nerd.