Even though we’re less than a week removed from the last time it snowed in Milwaukee, spring is technically here. Soon, the threat of snow will be entirely gone, the weather will improve, and the daylight hours will continue to extend deeper into the evening. Beyond those seasonal touchstones that will help folks truly “think spring” after a long and isolated winter, patio activity in and around Milwaukee is about to increase considerably as well.
Some establishments have never stopped offering up patio space to customers since last summer. Other businesses have already started serving food and/or drinks in their yards, on their decks and patios, out on street-side parklets, and any other parcel of outdoor space they have at their disposal. And a few holdouts—such as X-Ray Arcade—are about to kick off a few months of patio programming very soon.
Following a fairly quiet winter in which the Cudahy arcade and music venue started offering gourmet pizza bagels to-go, X-Ray is preparing to officially relaunch its “Patio Days” this weekend. For a few hours every Friday night, Saturday night, and on occasional Sunday afternoons, X-Ray will serve drinks out on its spacious and socially-distant side yard as a varied lineup of local DJs play records.
The first installments of the year will bring Chris Roberts to the turntables on April 30 from 6-10 p.m., Dirtnap Records owner/founder Ken Cheppaikode from 4-7 p.m. on May 1, and yours truly (Milwaukee Record‘s Tyler Maas) from 12-3 p.m. on Sunday, May 2. If this weekend isn’t enough notice, you can expect DJs at X-Ray Arcade every Friday and Saturday (weather pending) and on select Sundays throughout spring and summer. In addition to the wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on hand, X-Ray will also be making specialty pizza bagels to order and selling its merch. There is no cover for Patio Days.
Spring is here! Get outside to spend some time with friends as you listen to music, enjoy some drinks, and support a local all-ages venues that has endured an extremely difficult 13-plus months. We’ll see you there.