Shepherd Express - December 2025

DECEMBER 2025 NEXT ISSUE ON STANDS

JANUARY 7, 2025

2025

CELEBRATING OUR 35 th ANNIVERSARY!

THE VOTES HAVE BEEN TALLIED! SEE THE WINNERS ON PAGE 26

HOLIDAY DINING GUIDE

FIND IT ON PAGE 22

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

FIND IT ON PAGE 42

PUBLISHER'S LETTER

To a Better Next Year

BY LOUIS FORTIS

Y

ear 2025 was a tough one for those who love their country, despite some of its imperfections, who love democracy along with its imperfections, and who are in awe of our Constitution that weathered many a storm and survived for 250 years. We have seen a group of unqualified and unelected characters appointed to high positions in our current government who appear to act like thugs showing no respect for our country’s Constitution and laws.

They are trying to reverse many of the long-fought victories we have won, often trampling on our laws and the Constitution. They have undermined many of the laws providing greater social justice, racial justice and anti-gender discrimination. Instead of being outright racist and sexist, they repackaged it as DEI and then made it fair game for their cohorts to be vocally racist and sexist, just under a different name.

They have vilified the public servants working in the federal government and fired many of them without any cause.

These individuals are not perfect, but they work to keep us healthy and safe.

They are not doing it just for the money because many of them could be making more money working in the private sector. Instead, they want to use their skills and knowledge to improve the lives of us average citizens; unlike Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who appear to be only concerned about how much money they and their children can hustle from the U.S. government.

While literally half the population of the United States is struggling to pay the bills each month and to feed and house their families, this administration made permanent the huge tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporations that had been scheduled to sunset.

To pay for these tax breaks for the wealthy, the administration put the screws to our lower income citizens by cutting SNAP (food stamps) benefits, cutting Medicaid benefits, and cutting the subsidies to help pay the health insurance premiums for the Affordable Care Act; to name just some of the most egregious cuts.

While we are the richest country the world has ever seen, half our population is struggling while a small group of billionaires are paying a lower effective tax rate than the average working person. We can strengthen our social safety net and begin to lower our national debt if we institute a fair and just tax system. We have the wealth and the tax base.

THE SLEEPING GIANT IS WAKING UP Americans are often less informed than citizens in other countries about what is going on in the world and what is really going on in our country when it comes to politics and public policy.

That has gotten worse with the help of some news sources that just lie and distort the news. However, when the public eventually does realize what is happening—like with Nixon and Watergate—just get out of their way.

Nixon was forced out of office and his Attorney General,John Mitchell, and other high-ranking appointees ended up in prison. And now the sleeping giant is beginning to wake up again.

The opening of the Epstein files is beginning to happen. This is “sensational news,” the scandals of the rich and famous, that get people paying attention. Yes, the Trump administration will continue to try to keep things under wraps, but Trump is getting pressured from his own MAGA crowd. MAGA leaders like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, formerly a big Trump supporter, is leading the charge for full disclosure.

Trump made the Epstein files a big issue in the 2024 election only to see them come back to bite him.

Trump’s tariffs and his attacks on immigrants, which are creating labor shortages, are beginning to drive price increases. Lowering prices has become the biggest issue in the minds of Americans. In the most recent poll looking at what are Americans’ top priorities, “Lowering Prices” tops the chart with 57% seeing it as their top priority. Trump’s anti-immigration policies are a distant second at 16%.

His policies are having a direct impact on rising prices, and his poll numbers are dropping. Trump’s recent approval rating is between 37%-41%. He is losing support from those who view themselves as Independents, and that group will be hard to get back.

If you don’t put much stock in polling, then look at the November 4 election results. Democrats won every election in every state having elections that day and they were not close elections. Right now, with the generic question, “if the congressional races were held today what party would you vote for?” Democrats were up by 14 percentage points.

That is huge. This would result in landslide victories. Fortunately for the Republicans, the election is still a year away.

Finally, the negative impact of Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill will soon be felt especially by low- and moderateincome Americans. That’s his MAGA base. For those of us who love our country and democracy, we need to get involved and vote next November to reverse these policies that are going to hurt our citizens.

Publisher Louis Fortis has a Ph.D. in economics and is a former Wisconsin State Legislator.

DECEMBER 2025 | 3

8 NEWS

06 How a Milwaukee Chain is Bringing Pharmacies to Underserved Neighborhoods

08 The President Who Stole Christmas 12 Brush Box Makes Arts and Crafts Accessible to Everyone — Hero of the Month 14 Lafayette Crump, Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development — MKE SPEAKS: Conversations with Milwaukeeans

26

2025 BACK TO THE

15 This Modern World

FOOD & DRINK

MANAGING EDITOR: David Luhrssen (dluhrssen@shepex.com) GENERAL MANAGER: Peggy Debnam (peggy@shepex.com) MEDIA SALES MANAGER: Jackie Butzler (jackie@shepex.com) SENIOR MEDIA CONSULTANTS: Bridgette Ard (bridgette@shepex.com) Chuck Hill (chuck@shepex.com)

18 Lisa Kaye Keeps the Focus on Quality, Consistency and Community

MEDIA CONSULTANTS: Jennifer Jepson (jennifer@shepex.com)

20 The Useless Presents: Our Wine & Spirits Holiday Gift Guide — Beverages

IN MEMORY OF DUSTI FERGUSON (OCTOBER 18, 1971 – NOVEMBER 20, 2007

22 Holiday Dining Guide

SPECIAL SECTION 26 Best of Milwaukee 2025 Results

42

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Louis Fortis (louis@shepex.com)

42 2025 Holiday Gift Guide

WEB COORDINATOR: Caroline Dannecker (caroline@shepex.com) DIGITAL STRATEGIST: Sophia Hamdan (sophia@shepex.com) STAFF WRITER & CIRCULATION COORDINATOR: Blaine Schultz (blaine@shepex.com) STAFF WRITER: Ben Slowey (ben@shepex.com)

CULTURE 54 Violins of Hope at Jewish Museum Milwaukee

LAYOUT AND DESIGN: Timothy Czerniakowski

56 This Month in Milwaukee 10 Things to do in December

LIFESTYLE 60 Ask Ally 61 Christmas Awaits Our Return — Out of my Mind

HEAR ME OUT 62 Ho, Ho, Hold Your Boundaries — Dear Ruthie 64 A Winter's LGBTQ Reading List — My LGBTQ POV AT SHEPHERD EXPRESS, WE ARE COMMITTED TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND RESPONSIBLE PRACTICES. OUR PUBLICATION IS PRINTED ON PAPER THAT IS CERTIFIED BY THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (FSC), SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE (SFI), AND THE AMERICAN TREE FARM SYSTEM (ASTFS), ENSURING IT COMES FROM RESPONSIBLY MANAGED FORESTS. IN ADDITION TO OUR ECO-FRIENDLY PAPER, WE UTILIZE INKS THAT INCORPORATE RENEWABLE RESOURCES SUCH AS SOYBEAN OIL, LINSEED OIL, CASTOR OIL, TALL OIL ROSIN, AND GUM ROSIN. THESE CHOICES REFLECT OUR DEDICATION TO REDUCING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND PROMOTING A GREENER FUTURE. MOREOVER, OUR DEDICATION TO SUSTAINABILITY EXTENDS TO THE END OF THE PUBLICATION'S LIFECYCLE. OUR PRINTED MATERIALS ARE DESIGNED TO BE RECYCLABLE, ALLOWING READERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND PLAY A PART IN PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT.

4 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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ART FOR ART'S SAKE 66 From the City that Always Sweeps

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Champagne bottle & glasses by GettyImages/RomoloTavani.,Gold confetti by GettyImages/Alexandra Lipina.

DECEMBER 2025 | 5

NEWS

Illustration by GettyImages/Jenny On The Moon.

HOW A MILWAUKEE CHAIN IS BRINGING PHARMACIES TO UNDERSERVED NEIGHBORHOODS

BY HOPE MOSES

I

n cities across the country, pharmacies have long served as more than just places to pick up prescriptions. They have been some of the most accessible touch points in the healthcare system—offering flu shots, health screenings and trusted advice steps from home.

But as national chains scale back operations, the role of independent pharmacies has grown more urgent.

Since 2023, eight Walgreens locations have closed across Milwaukee, deepening pharmacy deserts and leaving many residents without nearby access to care.

In response, Hayat Pharmacy is expanding. Its newest location at 1238 S. Chavez Drive on the city’s South Side is part of a mission that Hayat’s president, Tamir Kaloti, said has guided the company from the beginning.

“This has been the mission of our pharmacy since day one,” said Kaloti. “Our mission has been to take care of underserved areas of our community.”

6 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

STRATEGIC LOCATIONS That mission began in 2011, when founder Hashim Zaibak opened Hayat’s first location at the intersection of North 37th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue.

Over the years, the pharmacy has grown to 20 locations— each one strategically placed in neighborhoods where access to pharmacies is limited.

Despite this growth, pharmacy deserts in Milwaukee remain persistent. A University of Southern California study published in 2021 ranked the city among the worst in the country for pharmacy access, with closures disproportionately affecting predominantly Black and Latino communities.

“I have seen many people that have recently come—and even a few years ago—start coming to Hayat as their pharmacies on the North side started going,” said Mara Ahmad, a community care nurse supervisor at Hayat.

MAJOR CHAINS SCALE BACK The Walgreens closures are part of a three-year initiative by the company to reduce costs amid financial challenges.

Other corporations are also scaling back, including CVS which closed three locations in Milwaukee this year with plans to close 270 stores nationwide.

For residents like Dan Schley, the impact of these closures in the city further highlight Hayat’s commitment to the community.

“They’re very intentional about finding those parts of our community that need representation,” Schley said.

“They’re taking care of us.”

Schley also shared that healthcare professionals at Hayat went above and beyond to make sure his medications were affordable—something he said larger corporations often don’t have the time or flexibility to do. And resident Tasha Brown echoed that sentiment.

Brown worked as a pharmacy technician at both Walgreens and Hayat and said her journey into healthcare began when she noticed recurring issues with prescription fulfillment at her Walgreens location. That experience sparked a deeper interest in medicine and helping others.

But it wasn’t until she joined Hayat in 2016 that she felt truly connected to the work. “We were family,” Brown said. “And with CVS and Walgreens shutting down, it’s just amazing that they are still able to stand as an independent pharmacy.”

SENSE OF CONNECTION That sense of connection and community is exactly what pharmacies are meant to foster, said Maria Pino, Associate Professor at New York Institute and Technology and pharmacy expert. She emphasized that pharmacists are often the first line of contact in healthcare, especially for non-native English speakers to ask questions in their own language.

But when pharmacies shut down, she said it can have major consequences for patients living in that particular area. “If you get a lot of closures, sometimes patients are not mobile enough to go to other areas,” Pino said. “They have to take buses or commute and if that happens, patients are not going to seek out care and that is a problem.”

Without accessible pharmacies, Pino added that patients may miss critical guidance on how to take their medications, which can worsen chronic conditions and delay treatment.

That concern was central to Hayat’s newest location, which will offer free home delivery, along with simple medication packaging and walk-in vaccines. Additionally, the new location will have bilingual pharmacists and care teams, as well as Spanish-language materials. Patients will also have access to a durable medical equipment specialist who provides in-home visits.

“I feel a sense of trust and responsibility to the people that look to us to take care of part of their healthcare needs,” he said. “We don’t take that responsibility lightly.”

As pharmacy closures continue to reshape Milwaukee’s healthcare landscape, Hayat Pharmacy has responded to the increase in foot traffic by hiring new staff and planning further expansion. A new location is already in the works near Farwell Avenue and Brady Street, Kaloti said.

As for the Cesar Chavez Drive location, the opening date is to be determined. “We tried to think first of what is needed in the community and then we try to find a way to make it sustainable,” Kaloti said.

Hope Moses is a Milwaukee native, graduating from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She also holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and is currently a reporting fellow at the Chicago Tribune.

For Kaloti, the moment feels deeply personal.

Illustation of pill bottles by GettyImages/SpicyTruffel.

Background pattern by GettyImages/Ihor Tsyvinskyi.

DECEMBER 2025 | 7

NEWS

The President Who Stole

Christmas

BY E.G. NADEAU

8 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Illustration by E.G. Nadeau.

T

hanks to President Trump, most Americans and tens of millions of people in other countries are getting a lump of coal (and a splash of oil and a noxious whiff of methane gas) to celebrate the end of 2025. These are not the gifts we requested in our notes to Bad Santa, nor the gifts that Bad Santa promised us prior to his election in November 2024.

As part of my monthly series of articles on Trump’s corruption during his second term in office, this one chronicles some of the goodies that Trump has bestowed on himself and his wealthy supporters and the lumps of coal he has dumped on the rest of us since his inauguration on January 21, 2025.

Unlike most of my previous articles in this series, this one focuses primarily on Trump’s “institutional corruption” rather than his “financial corruption.”

When Trump was inaugurated in January 2025, part of the ceremony included the following oath of office: “I do solemnly swear . . . that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” On the many occasions Trump subverts rather than preserves, protects and defends the Constitution, he is committing “institutional corruption.”

CONQUEST, WAR, FAMINE AND DEATH Since Trump illegally enabled Elon Musk to take a chainsaw to many federal programs, in particular those related to foreign aid, the results have had truly horrific consequences for the world’s poorest people. Not at all the makings of a happy ending to 2025.

CONQUEST AND WAR Trump has made threats about taking over Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal and other parts of the world. As has been well documented, he has also authorized attacks on Venezuelan and Colombian alleged “drug boats” off of South America. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of dozens of crew members.

But at least so far, he is more bombast than action when it comes to conquest and war.

FAMINE The UN’s World Food Program reported in mid-October that “13.7 million . . . food aid recipients could be pushed into emergency levels of hunger [in the near future] as support is cut.”

This is a result of the termination of US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding and cutbacks by other large donors.

DEATH AND DISEASE A July 2025 article in the medical journal Lancet estimated that more than 14 million people in low and middle-income countries could die by 2030 “from tuberculosis, nutritional deficiencies, diarrheal diseases, lower respiratory infections, and maternal and perinatal conditions” unless the current steep funding cuts to USAID were rescinded or replaced by other sources of assistance.

Serious, but less apocalyptic, consequences for poor and middleincome people in the U.S. Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day,” the initiation of a global trade war.

The headline in a mid-October article published in The Guardian was “‘Empty shelves, higher prices’: Americans tell of cost of Trump’s tariffs.” The article continued: “US consumers say price rises caused by president’s tariffs contradict his promise to make life more affordable.”

As most economists predicted, raising tariffs on other countries have led to higher prices at home. High tariffs on imported goods have a similar impact to increases in domestic sales taxes. Foreign sellers can only reduce their cost of goods sold by so much. Importers can only absorb part of the cost of more expensive imported goods. Thus, eventually, consumers end up paying higher prices.

According to aol.com, as of the fall of 2025, the five biggest price hikes in the United States tied to Trump’s tariffs are clothing and footwear, new cars and car parts, imported food, personal care items and energy.

Snow background by GettyImages/Ruslan Tytar. Photo of Christmas ornaments by GettyImages/Baks.

DECEMBER 2025 | 9

NEWS

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEEPENED THE IMPACT OF TRUMP’S CRUEL BUDGET During the longest government shutdown in American history, tens of millions temporarily lost access to food stamps and other federal benefits— effectively hostages to the shutdown.

The large majority of Democrats in both houses of Congress were opposed to the Senate deal to end the shutdown.

What did the “cavers” get in return for their capitulation? As the BBC put it in a November 13 article, “next to nothing . . . a promise of a vote in the Senate on the subsidies [in December], but no guarantees of Republican support or even a necessary vote in the House of Representatives. . . .”

The “Big Ugly Bill,” signed on July 4, ushered into law a new level of financial inequality and uncertainty in the U.S. “New Trump Administration Policies Will Decrease Average Incomes for All Americans Except the Top 1 Percent” is the headline from an early September article published by the Center for American Progress. The article goes on to state: “New policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, paired with the Trump administration’s tariffs, will leave the bottom 99 percent of Americans with less . . . income by 2027, while the top 1 percent will benefit.”

However, the BBC article continued, “Congress will have to approve spending for the rest of the government by the end of January to avoid another shutdown.

Democrats, licking their wounds, may be hankering for another chance to fight. Meanwhile, the issue they fought over—healthcare subsidies —could become a pressing concern for tens of millions of Americans who will see their insurance costs double or triple at the end of the year.

Republicans ignore addressing such voter pain at their own political peril.”

A RECESSION COULD BEGIN IN LATE 2025 OR EARLY 2026

Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winning economist, wrote an article with the following headline in late October: “The U.S. Economy is in Worse Shape Than It Looks: No recession so far, but the no-hiring economy is hurting workers.” The article concludes: “Many economists—actually, all the economists I know—are worried about a potential downturn. The AI boom In addition, as the well-respected is troublingly reminiscent of the ‘90s economist Robert Reich put it, “Trump’s tech bubble.” In other words, don’t cruel budget is eliminating food be surprised if the U.S. experiences a stamps for hundreds of thousands of recession triggered by overly optimistic Americans and reducing or eliminating investments in AI-related companies. health insurance for millions more by cutting Affordable Care Act subsidies An article published by Fortune and making it harder for people to magazine in mid-August contains the qualify for Medicaid.” following quotation: “The odds that the economy will slip into a recession are nearly 50-50, 10 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

and the time of greatest vulnerability will run from late 2025 to early 2026, according to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi. That’s when the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his immigration crackdown will reach their peak, he predicted.

The economy could suffer a brutal winter as President Donald Trump’s tariffs and immigration crackdown keep the U.S. teetering on the edge of recession.”

CONCLUSION Not only has Trump stolen Christmas in 2025, he has set the stage for even more lumps of coal for poor and middle income people around the world and in the United States in 2026 and beyond by the increasingly autocratic and erratic approach to his presidency.

Thus, there is ample evidence that Trump’s personal corruption as president has enriched himself and his family. However, his institutional corruption is likely to have a much more damaging, long-term impact on people around the world and on democracy itself in the United States.

E.G. Nadeau is co-director of the Cooperative Society Project, dedicated to the idea that humanity may be on the verge of a new era of cooperation, democracy, equitable distribution of resources and a sustainable relationship with nature.

He has a Ph.D in sociology.

Snow background by GettyImages/Ruslan Tytar.

DECEMBER 2025 | 11

NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH

Brush Box Makes Arts and Crafts Accessible to Everyone

BY BEN SLOWEY

A

rt heals, and that is precisely why Amber Thomas and Kadijha Jones believe that arts and crafts should be accessible and affordable to anyone, regardless of age or status. “At any level, you can create something, even if you’re one year old or you’re an elder with fine motor issues,” Thomas affirms. The two share thoughtfully curated art kits, activities and events with Milwaukee and beyond by way of their business Brush Box, driven by its mission to help others find joy and healing through autonomous creativity. Since its launch in 2020, Brush Box has worked with community partners like Milwaukee Art Museum, Mount Mary University, Islands of Brilliance, ACLU of Wisconsin, NextDoor Milwaukee and many others.

As an art therapist, Thomas recognizes that making art accessible means breaking down what it means to make art.

She notes how even the simple act of ripping paper to make a collage can be therapeutic. “Half my job is convincing people that they should create,” Thomas elaborates.

“People associate our business with children—and yes, we do serve a lot of younger people - but anybody can make art, even if it’s something you do for fun that you never think about again, because the artistic process is healing.”

Jone adds, “It also means recognizing how art is part of every moment of our lives. I do a lot of habit-tracking, so I create a lot of calendars for myself, or I’ll create a punch card for my goals for the month.

12 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

It’s not always about the end product but taking whatever is in your imagination and putting it into physical form and being present in the moment. Even if you crumple it up and throw it away, maybe you let it be a reminder that you needed to reflect and process.”

CUSTOM KITS Brush Box adapts each art kit or activity to who they work with. For example, one kit might have bigger tools for someone who cannot hold small ones, or another may not contain certain materials due to someone having a sensory issue. Customizable creative catalysts like bead soups, slimes, paper flowers, junk journals and fidgets are available for sale via the Brush Box website.

Thomas and Jones met as RA’s [resident assistants] at Alverno College. With art therapy, Thomas found she could combine her passion for helping others with creative expression. Jones had always been interested in writing and poetry, but meeting Thomas got her also dabbling in arts and crafts. “Amber would show me all her supplies in her dorm and would take me to Michaels [arts and crafts store],” Jones remembers. “It got me comfortable finding and sourcing things to create art.”

Years later, when Covid hit, Thomas found herself among many who sought out new hobbies and creative outlets.

Amber and Kadi - Photo by Amber Thomas, Paint pattern by GettyImages/Dedraw Studio.

Illustration of paint brush by GettyImages/Svetlana Platonova.

“People were ordering subscription art boxes, and I wondered if I could make one,” she recalls.

“Kadijha and I had recently reconnected and I told her I had this idea, and she said she thought it was cool and wanted to do it with me.’’

VIRTUAL ART PROGRAM

“We also just hired my friend Tiffany to help us develop kits for the holiday season,” Thomas mentions. Brush Box is currently involved in several recurring programs, including art therapy during Empower Hour at St. Joan Antida High School as well as a pre-teen girls social group at CLARA Healing Institute. Thomas and Jones can also be found with Brush Box at local vendor markets and will be at Hover Craft on December 7.

Next thing they knew, Thomas and Jones were cofacilitating a virtual art program that would eventually The two hope for Brush Box to eventually have its own become Brush Box. “The first kit we ever sold was buildbrick-and-mortar space. “My dream would be to have your-own-superhero,” Thomas remembers. “It was based on daily drop-in programming like after school programming me making superheroes with my clients so that they knew for kids or running community groups,” Thomas contends. they had strengths and that it was OK to have a weakness, “People could rent us for birthday parties, or we could do and that they should build a community around themselves.” more wholesale ordering. I would also love for us to build connections with local schools.”

Fast forward to now, Brush Box has partnered with more than 50 organizations and has products in a myriad of local stores, including Bronzeville Collective MKE, Milwaukee Makers Marketplace, Swoon, Mixed Bag MKE, Frankie’s Gift Shop, Kujichagulia Producer Co-Op in Sherman Phoenix and Maxilyn House in Racine. “The majority of our business has been word-of-mouth, and a lot of our growth has been based in our community believing in us,” Thomas attests.

Ben Slowey is a Staff Writer for the Shepherd Express.

Thomas and Jones are assisted by a team consisting of art therapist Yuliana Iniguez and yoga practitioner/art therapist Haley Fuhr.

DECEMBER 2025 | 13

NEWS MKE SPEAKS: CONVERSATIONS WITH MILWAUKEEANS

Lafayette Crump, Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development

BY TOM JENZ

W

hen Lafayette Crump was sworn in as Milwaukee’s commissioner of city development in 2020, the city faced a series of stubborn challenges: a widening gap in housing quality between white and minority residents, a Downtown still grappling with vacant commercial buildings and districts of underused industrial land. Not long after, along came Covid.

Crump switched majors from engineering to history, drawn to writing, debate and public speaking. After graduating from Duke, he went to Duke Law School and returned to Milwaukee to practice at Foley & Lardner, specializing in corporate law, and later at Quarles & Brady, where his expertise expanded to litigation, government compliance and lobbying.

Five years later, Commissioner Crump, 52, is still at the helm, steering projects that include redeveloping long-empty properties into affordable housing and coordinating with Public Works on the streets, sidewalks and public spaces that knit neighborhoods together. His work demands fluency in both economics and equity, skills he honed not in politics, but in law and the private sector.

During this time, his parents launched Prism Technical Management & Marketing Services, a firm focused on diversity and inclusion requirements for major construction projects including the Milwaukee Brewers stadium.

Crump advised them on corporate structure and legal issues while deepening his own expertise in the intersection of law, policy and economic development.

Crump grew up in Milwaukee’s inner city near 27th and Burleigh, an only child of teenage parents. His mother began her career as a probation and parole agent at the Ethan Allen Boys Home in Wales before joining the family business. His father became an electrical engineer for Cutler Hammer and Eaton Corporation before starting his own company. Both emphasized education.

Crump brought his legal background and lived experience to the role of city development commissioner. He has since overseen the creation of new Tax Incremental Districts (TIDs) to spur housing, championed adaptive reuse of underutilized office towers, and pressed for more equitable contracting practices on city-backed developments.

That educational focus propelled their son into the city’s gifted-and-talented track, first at Golda Meir School, then Samuel Morse School, and later to the elite University School in River Hills on financial aid. Crump was accepted to Harvard but ultimately chose Duke University after visiting the North Carolina campus. He won an Angier B. Duke Scholarship, one of just 14 awarded nationwide, but lost it after his first year because he had not applied himself.

“It was my first real adult lesson,” Crump said. “You may be smart, but you have to work hard.”

14 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

“Our built environment shapes opportunity,” Crump said.

“If we get housing, infrastructure, and business growth right, we can close the gaps that have held too many people back.”

You’ve been commissioner of city development for five years now. A lot has happened since then in terms of Milwaukee city development. What would you say have been the biggest challenges?

The Covid pandemic year was a huge challenge because getting things done took longer, and we had to change on the fly. After the pandemic, many businesses rethought their operational process.

Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump - photo by Tom Jenz.

DECEMBER 2025 | 15

NEWS MKE SPEAKS: CONVERSATIONS WITH MILWAUKEEANS

For instance, were employees required to work in the office, and what should the office layouts look like? As for challenges in housing, the way that people live has been changing—the size of houses, condos and apartments. We have been assisting on developing new housing and office buildings, and also new policies like how we utilize Tax Incremental Districts.

What have been the biggest successes?

We are incredibly proud of landing Milwaukee Tool in the city of Milwaukee, which brings thousands of jobs into the city. We worked with Northwestern Mutual to consolidate their workforce right here in Downtown. We brought Fiserv into the Downtown area. Fiserv is a huge company in terms of the financial technology and payments space.

Those large companies mean more housing is needed.

Yes. That’s part of our responsibility—to increase the amount of housing in general as well as the number of affordable housing units in the city. Another challenge is to address racial disparities. For the first time in decades, we have increased the number of African American homeowners in the city. New affordable homes.

This is all done in partnership with the city council and philanthropic organizations. One of our great nonprofit partners is Habitat for Humanity

Hypothetical question. Let’s say I am a developer and I own a piece of land in the Downtown area. My plan is to build a high-rise apartment building. What is my process for getting that done?

Your first step, which we would help you with, is to figure out if your building is a viable project at the location of your land. That means feasibility of meeting zoning codes or the option of altering the zoning. Second, your building plan needs to align with the city’s plan for that area.

We have 14 area plans under the city’s comprehensive plan.

But we could be flexible on making alterations. Third, if you have a financing gap, for instance, if you your building costs are $200 million but the building will be only worth $100 million when built, you could talk to us about Tax Incremental Financing (TIF). We figure out how your new building will increase the value of that property and also the tax revenue the city would receive from your office and apartment rentals. If your building will bring jobs and affordable housing to the city, then we might participate in the financing and help you finish the building.

You recently proposed two new TIDs. First, TID 127 at 100 East Wisconsin Avenue. Your aim is to transform that office tower into 373 residential units, including 75 workforce housing units for households making up to 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The 100 East project is estimated to cost $165 million, with a proposed $14.4 million developer-financed TIF lasting 16 years at 6.2% interest. Can you expand on this project? And who will be the developer?

I think you just said it all. The developers are Johnny Vassallo, Klein Development, and 100 East PropCo LLC. Construction will begin on 100 East Wisconsin later this year and is expected to be completed by late 2027. You know, that office tower is one of Milwaukee’s most iconic buildings.

16 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Those 75 units will be the first workforce housing units financed under our new program.

Part of the TID 127 proposal requires 40% of labor via the Residents Preference Program (RPP) and 25% from small business enterprises (SBEs). Explain those two programs.

The RPP kicks in when the city gives at least $1 million in financial assistance to a project. We require that 40% of the hours be worked by workers who live in the city. We also require that small businesses be a part of this project.

Let’s talk about TID 128, the Compass Lofts, which would be part of the ML King Drive Redevelopment.

The TID 128 project would involve repurposing a long-vacant, city-owned commercial building at 3116 N. ML King Drive into a four-story mixed-use building with 67 residential units and also 8,100 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Can you elaborate on this TID 128 and who will be the developer?

The developers are Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation (MLKEDC), a non-profit organization, and also EA Development. This project will be receiving WHEDA low-income housing tax credits.

WHEDA is the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. The projected development cost for Compass Lofts is around $19.6 million, with a TIF-supported grant of up to $1.37 million, repayable over and up to 20 years plus interest at around 7.23%.

Of the Compass Lofts units, 56 will be affordable, targeting families earning 50–60% of AMI (Area Median Income), but 22 units will be designated as permanent supportive housing for individuals at risk of homelessness. If I am a paying resident, why would I want to live in a space with those at risk of homelessness?

We expect the developer will make sure those units are comfortable and viable for all residents. Additionally, the developer has entered into an agreement with a service provider to deliver increased services needed by residents at risk of homelessness. But what might be the concerns about residents living in a building that houses unhoused individuals?

A lot of homeless people are mentally ill, which results in drug use, drug dealing, alcoholism, rabble rousing, unclean hygiene, even violence. Los Angeles, for example, with tent cities lining the streets, is an example.

That is a fair question. Any resident of a building has an expectation that the property owner will be responsible for the building care and the surrounding area, all to ensure a safe environment. The Compass Lofts would not accept bad behavior. Our goal is to get the unhoused to live stable lives.

When will the Compass Lofts be completed?

Construction on Compass Lofts will begin this fall and is expected to be completed by late 2026.

Were you involved with the ThriveOn King development, restructuring the old Gimbels Building near North and ML King? That turned out very well, supporting tenants, businesses, big nonprofits, educational daycare, a restaurant and more.

Yes, I was involved, but our economic development team member, Dan Casanova, played a huge role in the success of ThriveOn King.

What is Connecting MKE: Downtown Plan 2040? I believe it promotes population growth and mixeduse Downtown development in the city. How does it do that?

This is one of those 14 area plans I told you about. We view Downtown as for everyone and that everyone is treated well when Downtown.

The Downtown Plan does include developing Downtown but also connecting the areas north, west and south of Downtown, as well as open public spaces. If you are a developer and would like to build in the Downtown area, take a look at the Downtown Plan, and you will see the projected future for every little pocket of Downtown.

Tom Jenz is a Milwaukee writer-photographer and author of the Central City Stories column for shepherdexpress.com.

DECEMBER 2025 | 17

FOOD & DRINK

Lisa Kaye Keeps the Focus on Quality, Consistency and Community

BY HAZEL WHEATON

W

hen Chef Lisa McKay opened her own brickand-mortar restaurant on Vliet Street in 2024, at the site of the former Tricolo Peru, all signs pointed to it being a great success. McKay had the bone fides, having operated her own catering business since 2007 to rave reviews and multiple awards. Lisa Kaye Bistro swiftly garnered praise for McKay’s tasty combination of Southwestern flavors and traditional Southern Soul Food.

Always community minded, McKay seemed poised to make her Bistro a neighborhood hub, an anchor to development along Vliet Street.

Bad luck struck, however, in the form of burst pipes causing an extended shutdown and a family illness that made it difficult to maintain a restaurant as well as an ongoing catering concern. But while such misfortune might be fatal to another fledgling venture, McKay’s determination, expertise and adaptability has meant the Bistro’s survival.

McKay scaled back the restaurant’s hours and menu, keeping the focus on quality, consistency, and community.

The restaurant plans to re-expand their hours and their menu, reintroducing lunch and breakfast service.

18 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

In the meantime, conflicting information posted online about opening hours makes it difficult to schedule a visit, but the outstanding food and warm, friendly atmosphere makes it worth the effort.

THINK TANK THURSDAY/SOUL FOOD SUNDAY The revamped schedule reflects McKay’s background in catering, with two of the three days the restaurant is open each week merging restaurant-style menus with cateringstyle events. “Think Tank Thursdays” are dedicated to professional networking and socializing; “Soul Food Sundays” feel more like a neighborhood block party.

I visited twice: once on a Friday, for a regular dinner, and again on a Sunday. The regular dinner menu was a single sheet of tempting options, including cheesesteak sandwiches (beef or chicken), loaded nachos (brisket or ground beef), Baja tacos and whole chicken wings. It being a Friday, I opted for the fried fish dinner and chose catfish over perch. At the suggestion of McKay’s husband, Dwayne, I went off-menu for the hot honey version and was rewarded with an absolutely delicious entrée of two filets, perfectly mild and tender, with crispy but not greasy breading, drizzled with a sticky and spicy-sweet honey glaze.

The fries were good but not remarkable—but the vinegary sweet coleslaw was so good I could have happily eaten twice as much of it. There was also a menu of specialty drinks; the well-stocked bar offered an equal number of cocktails and mocktails, all thoughtfully designed. I indulged in a “Vliet Street Vibe,” a fabulous combination of rum, whiskey, and tropical juices jazzed up with ginger beer.

The atmosphere was laid back and quiet, with groups chatting at the bar and the bartender’s mother going out of her way to make me welcome.

At Sunday lunchtime, the mood was different—boisterous and celebratory, with a regular flow of people mingling and visiting, whether picking up take out or eating in.

Sunday customers choose from a shifting selection of classic entrees, such as smothered turkey legs, meatloaf, blackened catfish, stuffed salmon, BBQ ribs, and pot roast; each entrée comes with two sides. I opted for the delectable whole fried chicken wings with greens & cornbread and mac & cheese as sides, and an order of blackened catfish with dressing and sweet potatoes to take home for later.

I cleared my plate at the restaurant, and then again at dinner. All the sides were excellent, with my favorites being the greens and the sweet potatoes.

Lisa Kaye Bistro 3801 W. Vliet Street (414) 751-8786, www.facebook.com/lisakayebistrocatering/ Hours: Thursday–Friday: 4–8 p.m.

Sunday: 12–5 p.m.

Sandwiches & Entrees: $12–$18 Cocktails/Mocktails: $7–$12 Soul Food Sunday: Entrees (including two sides): $20-$30

Hazel Wheaton is a Milwaukee writer and the Shepherd Express magazine’s regular dining critic.

McKay is currently partnering with dearflorencesweets. com for Sunday desserts. I chose three to sample over the following few days—the German chocolate cake, carrot cake, and cheesecake with raspberry sauce were all excellent.

Photos by Hazel Wheaton.

Illustration by GettyImages/Tetiana Lazunova.

DECEMBER 2025 | 19

FOOD & DRINK BEVERAGES

“... a celluloid duck that made, when you pressed it, a most unducklike sound, a mewing moo that an ambitious cat might make who wished to be a cow ...”

The Useless Presents our wine & spirits holiday gift guide

BY GAETANO MARANGELLI Left to right: Matt Raboin, Marie Raboin, Honeybelle The Cow - Photo courtesy of Matt Raboin.

A “

Child’s Christmas in Wales” by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas distinguishes useful Christmas presents from useless Christmas presents. The useful presents inflict monotony on their recipients. The useless presents give them joy. In an effort to protect those you love and care for

from yet another tedious bottle of Veuve Clicquot or Grey Goose or any such fermented bottle which derives its value from a quantity of advertising dollars rather than the quality of its juice, I’ve asked these discriminating palates to offer us their favorite useless presents for the holiday season.

Ben Christiansen, Owner, Waterford Wine & Spirits

Andrea Hillsey, Owner, Square Wine

“Altos Malbec is super darn delicious, and half bottles of the 2020 vintage are a delight to give as a present. Why as a present? Well, it’s a ‘pocket rocket,’ wine in a 375-milliliter bottle.

I just can't resist the idea of drinking good wine everywhere, anywhere, anytime, and a pocket rocket is highly smuggle-able into inappropriate situations — like movie theaters and your in-law's house. Also, a pocket rocket is an amazing gift because one person can enjoy it.

So instead of a full bottle where a solo operator would have to set aside a night, a 375-milliliter bottle can be special. To the wine itself: it's an amazing team at Altos, this is a back vintage, and it’s drinking at its maximum fruit expression.

I've always thought that the best of the best of Argentina can come across to customers like really good Napa, yet at a fraction of the price. And hey, it pairs amazing with burgers and couch.”

“Bubbles!!! The answer to almost any wine question can be answered with sparkling wine. Sparkling wine is not just for celebrations.

It is first and foremost wine, and it needs to play a greater role in your wine-drinking life. My current obsession is the 2012 Le Brun Servenay, Vieilles Vignes, Grand Cru Champagne. This wine is 100% Chardonnay. It is precise and crystalline with an intense minerality. It'll cost you just under $100, but rest assured it is worth every penny. This is vintage Champagne, people!!! Most Champagne is NV (non-vintage) or MV (multi vintage), two ways to say the same thing. Historically, it's thought that Champagne producers would do this to hedge their bets on uncertain weather conditions in the region. This wine, however, is from one single vintage, meaning, that year's growing season was superb. A rarity under $100. Dress it up with caviar or dress it down with chicken tenders.”

Photo of Ben Christiansen by Francesca Magyar.

Photo of Andrea Hillsey by Tom Loup.

20 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Photo of presents by GettyImages/zefirchik06.

Tinsel border by GettyImages-Elena Svetushkova.

Matt Raboin, Co-Owner, Brix Cider

Susie Gilsdorf, Left Bank Wine Co.

“Moooooove over Irish Cream! This holiday season you should try Wisco Cream, a new cream liqueur made with Wisconsin dairy. Enjoy it with State Line Coffee Liqueur, Great Lakes Distillery Good Land Coffee Liqueur, or on its own. In a nostalgic bottle like the milkman used to bring, it makes the perfect gift for the Wisconsin dairy lover in your life.”

“Though my personal taste these days veers wildly towards highacid, cool climate jams, Dr. Loosen ‘Blue Slate’ Kabinett Riesling is a favorite star in my sky.

An absolute multitool of a gift, this steers the Blue Nun drinkers of yore (read: my lovely sisters-in-law) towards a serious German style, with appreciable amounts of residual sugar and acidity that add, not subtract, to a holiday meal. Fancy a dry alternative? Try the Dr. Loosen ‘Red Slate’ as a foray into a mind-blowing realm of dork-fodder: dry Riesling. You won't be sorry.”

Photo courtesy of Matt Raboin.

Photo of Susie Gilsdorf by Joe Gilsdorf.

Juan Urbieta, Executive Chef and General Manager, Ristorante Bartolotta dal 1993 “For the holidays, I love to gift people a Barbera wine from a quality producer.

I recommend talking to the sommelier on site at a reputable wine retailer for their suggestions. I love Barbera because it is a wine that universally pairs well with many different foods, making it a great gift. It's fruity, with high acidity and low tannins, which makes it ideal for many appetizers, pastas, and light entrees.”

Photo of Chef Juan Urbieta courtesy of The Bartolotta Restaurants.

Scott Miner, Cream Wine Co. “Domaine de Pallus Chinon, Les Pensées de Pallus is one of my all-time favorite Cabernet Francs from the Loire Valley. This is the flagship wine of the domaine and is made up of old vines from around the winery. It is aged for three years before release and has beautiful minerality and acidity to pair with all sorts of dishes. Be sure to surprise someone with a few bottles or a case because this wine will age and develop for decades. I had to open a bottle of 2014 just to check in!”

Photo courtesy of Scott Miner.

Jeff Cleveland, Managing Partner & Wine Director, Birch Restaurant “I think one of the best holiday gifts that can be given is a bottle of Special Club Champagne. Special Club Champagnes represent some of the most unique bottles of grower production in Champagne. The wines are selected by the Club Trésors de Champagne to showcase each member's best expression of a single vintage. Only released in exceptional years, these bottlings are aged longer, crafted entirely from estate fruit, and approved through a rigorous blind-tasting process. The result is a collection of terroir-driven Champagnes that show precision, individuality, and the quiet confidence of growers at the top of their craft. Two favorites for me are J. Lassalle and Paul Bara. I love to give them out and wouldn't be sad to receive them either.”

Photo of Jeff Cleveland by Aliza Baran.

Brandon Reyes, Director of Operations, Bittercube “Wisconsin boasts a thriving distillery scene, producing exceptional spirits from locally sourced ingredients. Our top pick for the amaro/ digestif aficionado on your holiday shopping list is Heirloom Liqueurs Pineapple Amaro or Heirloom Liqueurs Alchermes, paired with Bittercube Bolivar and Root Beer Bitters.”

Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was managing director of a wine import and distribution company in New York and beverage director for restaurants and retailers in New York and Chicago before moving to Wauwatosa.

Photo of Brandon Reyes by Nick Collura.

DECEMBER 2025 | 21

FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY DINING

Holiday Dining Guide SEE THE BEST PLACES TO EAT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Photo courtesy of Cafe Manna.

Photo courtesy of Carini's Southern Italian.

Photo courtesy of Five O'Clock Steakhouse.

CAFÉ MANNA

CARINI’S SOUTHERN ITALIAN

FIVE O’CLOCK STEAKHOUSE

3815 N. Brookfield Road.

Brookfield (262) 790-2340

3468 N. Oakland Ave. Milwaukee (414) 963-9623

2416 W. State St. Milwaukee (414) 342-3553

Cafemanna.com

Atouchofsicily.com

Fiveoclocksteakhouse.com

Enjoy this winter season at this neighborhood gem located off of Capitol Drive. Sit, socialize and indulge in Manna’s craft cocktails and exciting vegetarian/ vegan winter cuisine.

A Southern Italian Restaurant featuring Wood-Fired Pizza from Naples, Italy. Join us for our New Year's Eve celebration from 3 p.m. - 10p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 31!

Make your holidays special! Begin your evening with a classic cocktail at our bar and then relax and enjoy your supper club experience in our inviting and friendly dining room.

Five O’Clock Steakhouse specializes in serving award-winning steaks and seafood paired with a notable wine list, classic cocktails, and outstanding personalized service. Holiday special: Buy $100 gift card, receive a $25 gift certificate!

22 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Header photo by GettyImages/AlexRaths.Photo of plate with ornaments by GettyImages/photoguns.

Illustrated Christmas background by GettyImages/chekiwart.

DECEMBER 2025 | 23

FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY DINING

Photo courtesy of Kelly's Pot Pies & More.

Photo courtesy of Lakefront Brewery.

KELLY’S POT PIES & MORE

LAKEFRONT BREWERY

3268 Main St. East Troy (262) 592-1900

1872 N. Commerce St. Milwaukee (414) 372-8800

3785 S. 108th St. Greenfield (414) 662-7100

Lakefrontbrewery.com

Kellyspotpies.com Make dinner easy on yourself this holiday season! Our pot pies are crafted with love from the secret crust to the generous filling, each pot pie embodies our commitment to excellence. Our 'Heat-N-Serve' pies are ideal when you need a quick meal.

Additional pies available: Shepherd’s Pie, Quiche, Desserts and much more!

Frozen options are perfect to keep on hand when unexpected guests arrive. Frozen pies are also available at several specialty stores; visit our website for locations.

Lakefront welcomes the Swedish community and anyone looking to immerse themselves in Swedish delights and an earlier 5pm "ball drop".

Ticket includes appetizers, buffet, dessert, a beverage, and champagne toast.

Photo courtesy of The Pasta Tree.

THE PASTA TREE 1503 N. Farwell Ave. Milwaukee (414) 276-8867 pastatreemilwaukee.com

Photo courtesy of SALA.

SALA 2613 E Hampshire St. Milwaukee (414) 964-2611 saladining.com

24 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Milwaukee area diners have enjoyed unforgettable meals at SALA and trusted us to be their dining room for intimate dinners and family events for nearly 25 years. Whether you are craving a fresh, delicious, cookedto-order meal or you want to relax with a drink or bottle of wine at our comfortable bar, we invite you to join us.

Treat yourself this holiday season to great food with quality ingredients.

Truly a hidden gem with authentic Italian Cuisine and a vast selection of fine wines. Cozy up to our fireplace and experience excellent service, wonderful food, and a great ambience. Let us cater your next event!

Photo of Santa plate with ornaments by GettyImages-InspirationGP. Illustrated Christmas background by GettyImages/chekiwart.

DECEMBER 2025 | 25

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE

CELEBRATING OUR 35 ANNIVERSARY th

2025 BACK TO THE

BEST OF MILWAUKEE WINNERS ORGANIZED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ART & CRAFT FAIR/MAKERS MARKET

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26 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

CHORAL GROUP (60 OR MORE PERFORMERS)

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SUMMERFEST

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Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

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DECEMBER 2025 | 27

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE

CARPET/FINE RUGS

FLORIST

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STORE

SHABAHANG AND SONS PERSIAN CARPETS

414LORAL

CREAM CITY MUSIC

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28 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

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MILWAUKEE HOMELESS VETERANS INITIATIVE FINALISTS

Burn Pit BBQ Dryhootch VA

30 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

FINALISTS Blue Harmony Homes KL Construction LaBonte Construction Lakeside Luxury Homes HOME REMODELING

LABONTE CONSTRUCTION FINALISTS Bielinski Homes Kowalske Kitchen & Bath Lakeside Luxury Homes HVAC

CAPITOL HEATING AND COOLING FINALISTS Air Masters Belle Heating

LABONTE CONSTRUCTION

STREET ANGELS

BIELINSKI HOMES

Austin: Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric

FINALISTS Allrite Total Basement Finishing Kowalske Kitchen & Bath Lakeside Luxury Homes Zimmerman Architectural Studios BATHROOM REMODELER

FINALISTS David Crowley Gwen Moore Marina Dimitrijevic Tony Evers NON-PROFIT/HUMAN SERVICES ORGANIZATION

FINALISTS Allrite Home & Remodeling M C Green Services WeatherPro HOME BUILDER

ZIMMERMAN ARCHITECTURAL STUDIOS

LABONTE CONSTRUCTION

TAMMY BALDWIN

WEATHER TIGHT CORPORATION

ARCHITECT

FINALISTS Jason Korb Lakeside Luxury Homes Lex Design Group Meeteer Exteriors BASEMENT/REC ROOM REMODELER

MOST TRUSTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL

FINALISTS A1 Garage Door Briggs Overhead Door JD Griffith GUTTER INSTALLATION/REPAIR

FINALISTS Lakeside Luxury Homes KL Construction Kowalske Kitchen & Bath CLOSET DESIGN

CLOSETS BY DESIGN - MILWAUKEE

Laumann's Economy Heating & Cooling Stramowski Heating INTERIOR DESIGN

STONE HOUSE COLLECTIVE FINALISTS KL Construction Kristin Burke Interiors Lakeside Luxury Homes KITCHEN REMODELER

LABONTE CONSTRUCTION FINALISTS Kowalske Kitchen & Bath Kristin Burke Interiors Lakeside Luxury Homes LANDSCAPER/LAWN MAINTENANCE

THE SECRET GARDEN LANDSCAPING FINALISTS Blaze Landscape Contracting Inc. Little Things Garden Design M C Green Services PAINTER

FINALISTS Catron Design Haus KL Construction Kristin Burke Interiors Lakeside Luxury Homes Milwaukee Closet ELECTRICIAN

COLORWHEEL PAINTING

CURRENT ELECTRIC

OAK CREEK PLUMBING

FINALISTS Best Electric Dnesco Electric Kowalske Electric Triple T Electric

FINALISTS Budiac Plumbing Inc. Horner Plumbing PJs Plumbing ROOFER

FINALISTS LaBonte Construction Perfectionist Painting Premier Painting PLUMBER

BILLY GOAT ROOFING FINALISTS Allrite Home & Remodeling Community Roofing Weather Tight Corporation

WINDOW & SIDING

LGBTQ EVENT

BACON

BUTCHER SHOP

WEATHER TIGHT CORPORATION

PRIDE FEST

BUNZEL'S OLD FASHIONED MEAT MARKET

BUNZEL'S OLD FASHIONED MEAT MARKET

FINALISTS Becher Meats Kettle Range Meat Company Usinger's BAKERY

FINALISTS Becher Meats Kettle Range Meat Company Ray's Butcher Shoppe CAKE/SPECIALTY (THEMED)

GREBE'S BAKERY

SIMMA'S BAKERY

FINALISTS Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Bakehouse 23 Rocket Baby Bakery Story Time Sweets BEER SELECTION

FINALISTS Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Story Time Sweets CHEESE CURDS SELECTION

FINALISTS Allrite Home & Remodeling Meeteer Exteriors M LaPlant Contracting WeatherPro

LGBTQ DRAG EVENT

DRAG QUEEN BINGO AT LAKEFRONT BREWERY FINALISTS Bastille Days Drag Show Drag Bingo at Pop Lyz Dexic’s Gaggy Spelling B Vivent Health Drag Race DRAG PERSONALITY

DEAR RUTHIE FINALISTS Ester Flonaze Lyz Dexic Princess Janelza Supernova LGBTQ ADVOCATE

FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS Lovely Salon and Spa Michael Damian Ryan Rehak Vince Tripi

FINALISTS Lyz Dexic’s Gaggy Spelling B Pride on Brady Slayground MKE Vivent Health Drag Race LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE BUSINESS

FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Hedwig's Hair Salon Lakefront Brewery Lovely Salon and Spa Pop Vivent Health LGBTQ-OWNED BUSINESS

FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS POP Style Pop Cafe The Well Red Damsel: A Romance Bookstore

LOCALLY OWNED FOOD - RETAIL ARTISANAL CHEESE

WEST ALLIS CHEESE & SAUSAGE SHOPPE FINALISTS Outpost Co-op The Village Cheese Shop Wisconsin Cheese Mart

Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

DISCOUNT LIQUOR FINALISTS Forest Home Beer & Liquor Otto's Wine and Spirits Ray's Wine and Spirits BRATWURST

USINGER'S FINALISTS Becher Meats Bunzel's Old Fashioned Meat Market Outpost

WEST ALLIS CHEESE & SAUSAGE SHOPPE FINALISTS Cedar Valley Cheese Store Glorioso’s Italian Market Wisconsin Cheese Mart CHEESE SELECTION

WEST ALLIS CHEESE & SAUSAGE SHOPPE FINALISTS Outpost The Village Cheese Shop Wisconsin Cheese Mart CHOCOLATIER

INDULGENCE CHOCOLATIERS FINALISTS Freese's Candy Shoppe Tabal Ultimate Confections

DECEMBER 2025 | 31

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE CRAFT BEER SELECTION

HARD CIDER

TAKE-OUT DELI

BUFFET

RAY'S WINE & SPIRITS

DISCOUNT LIQUOR FINALISTS Cache Cider Outpost HOME COOKING MEAL KITS

GLORIOSO’S ITALIAN MARKET

MAHARAJA

FINALISTS Discount Liquor Woodman's CUPCAKES

AGGIE'S BAKERY & CAKE SHOP FINALISTS Blue's Bakery C. Adam's Bakery Classy Girl Cupcakes Jen's Sweet Treats Story Time Sweets DISTILLED SPIRITS

GREAT LAKES DISTILLERY & TASTING ROOM FINALISTS Central Standard Discount Liquor Otto's Ray's Wine & Spirits FARMERS MARKET

WEST ALLIS FARMERS MARKET FINALISTS Oak Creek Farmers Market Riverwest Farmers Market South Shore Farmers Market Tosa Farmers Market FROZEN PIZZA

SCREAMIN SICILIAN FINALISTS Cedar Teeth Emil's Watertown Flourchild Pizza Palermo's GOURMET POPCORN

KNIGHTS GOURMET POPCORN AND CANDIES FINALISTS Goody Gourmets Lush Popcorn GROCERY - ALL PURPOSE

WOODMAN'S MARKETS FINALISTS Metcalfe's Outpost Sendik's Food Market GROCERY - ETHNIC

EL REY FINALISTS Glorioso's Italian Market Monterrey Market Parthenon Foods GROCERY - GOURMET

GLORIOSO’S ITALIAN MARKET FINALISTS G. Groppi Food Market Outpost Sendik's Food Market GROCERY - ORGANIC

OUTPOST NATURAL FOODS FINALISTS Good Harvest Market Trader Joe's - Brookfield

BUNZEL'S OLD FASHIONED MEAT MARKET FINALISTS Becher Meats Kettle Range Meat Company Miltown Eats Outpost HOT HAM & ROLLS

G. Groppi Food Market

FINALISTS Fava Tea HoneyBee Sage Wellness & Apothecary Cafe

FINALISTS Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop

DISCOUNT LIQUOR

Sendik's Food Market LIQUOR STORE

DISCOUNT LIQUOR FINALISTS Consumer Beverage Otto's Ray's Wine & Spirits MEAT SELECTION

BUNZEL'S OLD FASHIONED MEAT MARKET FINALISTS Becher Meats Outpost Sendik's Food Market PIES (SWEET OR SAVORY)

HONEYPIE CAFE FINALISTS Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Kelly's Pot Pies & More Mr. Dye's Pies SAUSAGE

USINGER'S FINALISTS Becher Meats Bunzel's Old Fashioned Meat Market Outpost West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe SAUSAGE SHOP

WEST ALLIS CHEESE & SAUSAGE SHOPPE FINALISTS Bunzel's Old Fashioned Meat Market Ray's Butcher Shop Usinger's SODA

SPRECHER BREWING CO. FINALISTS Dang!

Goodland Jolly good Lakefront Brewery Golden Maple Root Beer

FINALISTS Layman Brewing Oscar's Pub & Grill Patty Shack BURRITO

RISHI TEA

GREBE'S BAKERY

Layton Fruit Market

KOPP'S FROZEN CUSTARD

Outpost TEA

Urbal Tea WINE SELECTION

Bunzel's Old Fashioned Meat Market

FINALISTS India Garden Mekong Cafe Waha Buffet BURGERS

FINALISTS Bunzel's Old Fashioned Meat Market

CAFE CORAZON FINALISTS Barrel Burrito Company Cielito Lindo Guanajuato Mexican Restaurant Taqueria El Cabrito CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT

FINALISTS Nonfiction Wine Ray's Wine & Spirits Waterford Wine & Spirits

CUBANITAS

LOCALLY OWNED RESTAURANT

FINALISTS Caribbean Jaacs McCoco’s Mobay Cafe Noche Restaurante Uppa Yard CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICAN RESTAURANT

AFRICAN RESTAURANT

IMMY'S AFRICAN CUISINE

CHEF PAZ RESTAURANT

FINALISTS Alem Ethiopian Village Blue Star Cafe Ethiopian Cottage BAGEL

ALLIE BOY’S BAGELRY & LUNCHEONETTE FINALISTS Hen's Deli Ruby's Bagels BAR FOOD

CAMINO FINALISTS Faklandia Brewpub Layman Brewing Pete’s Pub BARBECUE

DOUBLE B'S BBQ FINALISTS Faklandia Brewpub Heaven's Table BBQ Saz's State House Speed Queen BBQ Sweet Smoke BBQ BREAKFAST

UNCLE WOLFIE’S FINALISTS Blue's Egg + Bakery Honey Butter Cafe Landmark Family Restaurant Mad Rooster Cafe Mimosa BRUNCH

UNCLE WOLFIE'S FINALISTS Blue's Egg + Bakery Canela Cafe Mimosa

FINALISTS Antigua Anytime Arepas La Cocina Del Sur Noche CHEAP EATS

IAN'S PIZZA FINALISTS Conejito Landmark Family Restaurant CHEF

DANA SPANDET - FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS Gregory Leon - Amilinda Mary Kastman - Purslane Suzzette Metcalfe - Pasta Tree CHICKEN SANDWICH

CRAFTY COW FINALISTS Faklandia Fox Den Pete’s Pub CHICKEN WINGS

TOMKEN'S BAR & GRILL FINALISTS Club Garibaldi Fourth-N-Long Points East Pub CHINESE RESTAURANT

DANDAN FINALISTS Emperor of China Momo Mee Sze Chuan

Top Note

32 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

COFFEE SHOP

GELATO SHOP

STONE CREEK COFFEE

GLORIOSO'S ITALIAN MARKET

FINALISTS Anodyne Discourse Coffee La Finca Valentine Coffee Co. DONUTS

NATIONAL BAKERY FINALISTS Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Donut Monster Donut Squad Happy Dough Lucky O&H Danish Bakery FAMILY FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

LAKEFRONT BREWERY FINALISTS Cafe Corazon Centraal Grand Café & Tappery Pegasus Saz's State House FARM-TO-TABLE RESTAURANT

ODD DUCK FINALISTS Heirloom MKE Parkside 23 Purslane FINE DINING

BARTOLOTTA'S LAKE PARK BISTRO FINALISTS The Jackson Grill The Packing House Sanford FISH FRY

LAKEFRONT BREWERY FINALISTS Kegel's Inn Layman Brewing The Packing House FOOD TRUCK

FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS Azteca Lakefront Brewery Curd Wagon My Auntie's Kitchen Tots on the Street FRENCH RESTAURANT

LE REVE PATISSERIE & CAFE FINALISTS Lake Park Bistro Lupi & Iris Pastiche Bistro FRIED CHEESE CURDS

LAKEFRONT BREWERY FINALISTS Buckatabon Tavern & Supper Club Camino Fox Den FROZEN YOGURT SHOP

YO MAMA! FINALISTS Daddy Yo's Yo Factory

FINALISTS Cold Spoons Gelato Divino Gelato Cafe GERMAN RESTAURANT

KEGEL'S INN FINALISTS Bavarian Bierhaus Mader's Restaurant Von Trier GLUTEN-FREE/FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS Cafe Manna Lakefront Brewery Purslane GREEK RESTAURANT

OAKLAND GYROS FINALISTS Apollo Cafe Avli Gyro House HOT DOG

THE VANGUARD FINALISTS Dr. Dawg Martino's Hot Dogs & Italian Beef Sammy's Taste of Chicago The Dogg Haus HOTEL RESTAURANT

MASON STREET GRILL FINALISTS Bar West Il Cervo Stella Van Buren Tre Rivali ICE CREAM/FROZEN CUSTARD STAND

KOPP'S FROZEN CUSTARD FINALISTS Gilles Frozen Custard Leon's Frozen Custard Oscar's Frozen Custard Purple Door Ice Cream INDIAN/PAKISTANI RESTAURANT

CAFE INDIA FINALISTS Bollywood Grill Himalayan Yak India Garden Maharaja Turmeric IRISH RESTAURANT

COUNTY CLARE IRISH INN & PUB FINALISTS McBob's Pub & Grill Mo's Irish Pub Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill ITALIAN RESTAURANT

SANTINO'S LITTLE ITALY FINALISTS Sala Modern Sicilian That's Amoré The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar

DECEMBER 2025 | 33

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE

JAPANESE RESTAURANT

OUTDOOR DINING

ROMANTIC RESTAURANT

SUSHI

HUNGRY SUMO

BARNACLE BUD’S

LAKE PARK BISTRO

HUNGRY SUMO

FINALISTS Cute Robot Kawa Ramen and Sushi Kyoto Screaming Tuna JEWISH/KOSHER-STYLE RESTAURANT

FINALISTS Café Benelux Lakefront Brewery Sala Modern Sicilian

FINALISTS Milwaukee ChopHouse Purslane Sala Modern Sicilian The Packing House

FINALISTS 1033 Omakase Kawa Ramen and Sushi Kyoto Screaming Tuna TACO

BENJI'S DELI FINALISTS Hen's Deli Jake's Deli KITCHEN OPEN AFTER 10 P.M.

OAKLAND GYROS FINALISTS Fox Den Pete's Pub The Vanguard KOREAN RESTAURANT

CHAR'D FINALISTS K Street Cafe Stone Bowl Grill LOUISIANA/SOUTHERN RESTAURANT

MAXIE'S FINALISTS 1700 Pull Up Crawdaddy's Mr Perkins Tupelo Honey MAC & CHEESE

DOUBLE B'S BBQ FINALISTS Lakefront Brewery Maxie's MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT

LEBNANI HOUSE FINALISTS Apollo Cafe Casablanca Purslane Shahrazad MEXICAN RESTAURANT

BOTANAS FINALISTS Cafe Corazon Guanajuato Mexican Restaurant La Casa de Alberto MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT

LEBNANI HOUSE FINALISTS Casablanca Pita Palace Purslane Shahrazad NEW RESTAURANT (OPENED IN 2025)

ST. FRANCIS BREWING & RESTAURANT FINALISTS Las Gardenias Mother's Outlaw Oyster Purslane

34 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar PIZZERIA - DEEP DISH

FIXTURE PIZZA PUB FINALISTS Capri di Nuovo Lou Malnati's PIZZERIA - THIN CRUST

ZAFFIRO'S PIZZA FINALISTS Balistreri's Lisa's Pizza Sala Modern Sicilian PIZZERIA - WOOD-FIRED OVEN

FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS Carini's Proof Pizza Santino's Little Italy Wy'east Pizza PLACE TO EAT ALONE

LAKEFRONT BREWERY FINALISTS Fred's Frozen Custard & Grill Kawa Ramen & Sushi Layman Brewing Pete’s Pub Purslane RAMEN

HUNGRY SUMO FINALISTS Easy Tyger Kawa Ramen and Sushi Tanpopo Ramen & Sushi RESTAURANT OPEN ON CHRISTMAS DAY

THE PACKING HOUSE FINALISTS Aria Emperor of China Kawa Japanese Restaurant RESTAURANT SERVICE

LAKEFRONT BREWERY FINALISTS Purslane Sala Modern Sicilian The Jackson Grill RESTAURANT WITH A VIEW

HARBOR HOUSE FINALISTS Café Benelux Lakefront Brewery Lake Park Bistro RIBS

DOUBLE B'S BBQ FINALISTS Carson's Ribs Pitch's Saz's State House The Packing House

The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar SANDWICH

WEST ALLIS CHEESE & SAUSAGE SHOPPE FINALISTS Benji's Deli Faklandia Hen's Deli McBob’s Pub & Grill SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

ST. PAUL FISH COMPANY FINALISTS Carini's Southern Italian Harbor House Maxie's Sala Modern Sicilian SOUL FOOD

MAXIE'S FINALISTS Atwood BBQ Big Daddy's Daddy's Soul Food & Grille Plate Pleasures Eatery SOUPS

THE SOUP MARKET FINALISTS Beans and Barley Benji's Deli Loup Sala Modern Sicilian SPANISH RESTAURANT

LA MERENDA FINALISTS Amilinda Movida The Spanish Traveller STEAKHOUSE

FIVE O'CLOCK STEAKHOUSE FINALISTS Eddie Martini's Mo’s...A Place for Steaks The Jackson Grill The Packing House SUB SANDWICH

COUSINS SUBS FINALISTS Chocolate Factory Hen's Deli Suburpia SUPPER CLUB

FIVE O'CLOCK STEAKHOUSE FINALISTS Buckatabon Tavern & Supper Club Joey Gerard's The Jackson Grill The Packing House

GUANAJUATO MEXICAN RESTAURANT FINALISTS BelAir Cantina Botanas Cafe Corazon Chucho's Red Tacos Paloma Taco + Tequila TAPAS (SMALL PLATES)

LA MERENDA FINALISTS Movida Odd Duck Purslane THAI RESTAURANT

THAI-NAMITE FINALISTS Bangkok House EE-Sane Thai-Lao Cuisine Room Service VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

TWISTED PLANTS FINALISTS Beans and Barley Cafe Manna Purslane Strange Town VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

TWISTED PLANTS FINALISTS Beans & Barley Cafe Manna Purslane VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

HUE ASIAN KITCHEN FINALISTS Mekong Cafe Pho Cali Pho Saigon Vientiane WINE LIST

STORY HILL BKC FINALISTS Five O'Clock Steakhouse Mason Street Grill Mo's...A Place for Steaks Purslane Sala Modern Sicilian

MEDICAL ALCOHOL & DRUG REHAB CENTER

ROGERS MEMORIAL FINALISTS A Right Path Wellness Serenity Inns United Community Center

CANCER CENTER

MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC

FROEDTERT CANCER CENTER

ROGERS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

FINALISTS Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Aurora St. Luke's CARDIOLOGIST

FINALISTS Integration Healing - Alivio Integral

DR. MATTHEW WEINBERG FINALISTS Dr. James Schulgit Dr. Michael Curley Dr. Steven C. Port CHIROPRACTOR

SOUTH SHORE FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC FINALISTS Anne Maedke Ascent Chiropractic Nick Lundbohm - ChiroWay of Menomonee Falls COSMETIC DENTIST

MAJOR DENTAL CLINICS FINALISTS Lake Park Dental Stephanie Murphy The Dentists South Shore COSMETIC SURGEON

DR. MICHAEL SWEET FINALISTS Dr. Bosbous Dr. Mark Blake DENTIST

MAJOR DENTAL CLINICS FINALISTS Saint Francis Dental Center Stephanie Murphy The Dentists South Shore DERMATOLOGY

DR. EDIT OLASZ - FROEDERT DERMATOLOGY FINALISTS Affliated Dermatologists Forefront Dermatology Madison Medical EYE DOCTOR

METRO EYE FINALISTS 414 Eyes Eyes on the Lake Milwaukee Eye Care HOME MEDICAL CARE

RALYN HOMECARE LLC FINALISTS Aurora Home and Hospice Compassus Hearts to Home Senior Home Care Horizon Home Care and Hospice HOSPITAL

FROEDTERT HOSPITAL FINALISTS Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center Aurora St. Luke's South Shore West Allis Memorial Hospital LASIK SURGEON

MILWAUKEE EYE CARE FINALISTS Dr. Lanny Hale Dr. Louis Probst Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

New Frontiers Psychiatric & TMS Water's Edge Therapy Services, LLC OB-GYN

MORELAND OB-GYN ASSOCIATES FINALISTS Dr. Jessica Francis Dr. Jonathan Berkoff OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST

ERIN BAFFUNO FINALISTS Allison Ayers Jackie Kucharski ORTHODONTIST

BELL ORTHODONTIC SOLUTIONS FINALISTS Dr. Todd Connell Grafton Orthodontics Wurm Orthodontics PEDIATRICIAN

DR. STEPHANIE SLOCK FINALISTS Dr. David Sherman Dr. Jeffrey Gehl Dr. Larissa Malmstadt Dr. Timothy Marsho PHYSICAL THERAPIST

WISCONSIN ORTHOPEDIC PHYSICAL THERAPY FINALISTS Bradley Ng Erik Heinlein PSYCHIATRIST / PSYCHOLOGIST

LAKESHORE PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES FINALISTS Carlyle Chan Kailagh Lewis Shorehaven Behavioral Health SOUND THERAPY

ANGELIC ROOTS - OAK CREEK FINALISTS Adagio Sound Healing Parisa Yoga Shala Syinthesis® Sound Healing Center SPEECH THERAPIST

CUW SPEECH, LANGUAGE, & HEARING CLINIC FINALISTS Cindy Shicotte Julie Thoe SPORTS MEDICINE

MIDWEST ORTHOPEDIC FINALISTS Dr. Nicholas Webber Wisconsin Sports Medicine TELEMEDICINE PROVIDER

A RIGHT PATH WELLNESS FINALISTS Thrive Holistic Medicine

DECEMBER 2025 | 35

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE WOMEN'S MEDICAL SERVICES

JAZZ COMBO

ART STUDIO/CLASSES

BREWERS SHUTTLE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD

MILWAUKEE JAZZ INSTITUTE

CREAM CITY CLAY

STENY'S

FINALISTS Angelic Roots - Oak Creek Cloud 9 Workshop Splash Studio ATTRACTION FOR OUT-OFTOWN GUESTS

FINALISTS Brat House O'Lydia's Paulie's Pub Redbar Saz’s State House BREWERY TOUR

FINALISTS Care for All Clinic Midlife Midwife MKE Thrive Holistic Medicine

MUSIC

FINALISTS B.D. Greer & The Gents Ellen Winters Group Jazz Flux METAL BAND

ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN

CHERRY PIE

JAKE WILLIAMS FINALISTS Jack Tell Keanen Kopplin Rio Lanza BLUEGRASS BAND

CHICKEN WIRE EMPIRE FINALISTS Bluegrass Allstars Plank Road Project Sawdust Symphony The MilBillies BLUES BAND

JOHNNY T-BIRD & THE MP'S FINALISTS Altered Five Blues Band Milwaukee Blues Rock Collective CLUB DJ

DJ SHAWNA FINALISTS DJ Breezy DJ Topher Don Black COUNTRY

THE WHISKEYBELLES FINALISTS Bella Cain Catelyn Huckstep God's Outlaw Ladybird Road Crew COVER/TRIBUTE BAND

FAILURE TO LAUNCH FINALISTS FallBack Smart Mouth Sons of Sconnie ELECTRONIC ARTIST

JOHNNY FRANCHINO FINALISTS Demix Immortal Girlfriend FOLK BAND

THE MIDNIGHT PURCHASE FINALISTS Long Mama Tethered Souls INDIE BAND

FINALISTS Beatallica Conniption Fates of Death Fight Dice Garden Home H1Z1 Metal Men Reflection of Flesh Snag Spiral Trance MUSIC PRODUCER/ENGINEER

SD PRODUCES FINALISTS Jeff Hamilton Mitch Cooper Ric Probst Vincent Van Great POLKA BAND

THE SQUEEZETTES FINALISTS Ed Hause The November Criminals Vern and the originals RAP/HIP-HOP ARTIST

JOHNNY FRANCHINO FINALISTS 414BigFrank IshDARR NilexNile Vincent Van Great ROCK BAND

THE NEW GREY FINALISTS Gabriel Sanchez Project Known Moons The Midnight Purchase VOCALIST-FEMALE

AMANDA HUFF FINALISTS Anna Hoak Ashley Patin B.D. Greer VOCALIST—MALE

JOHNNY FRANCHINO FINALISTS Jake Williams Josh Quinn Vincent Van Great

OUT AND ABOUT ALL-AGES VENUE

THE NEW GREY

CACTUS CLUB

FINALISTS Known Moons Telethon The Hallelujah Ward

FINALISTS Bud Pavilion The New Fashioned X-Ray Arcade ARCADE/GAMING

UP-DOWN ARCADE BAR

MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM

LAKEFRONT BREWERY FINALISTS Layman Brewing Pabst Sprecher Brewery CAR SHOW

FINALISTS Best Place at Pabst Black Cat Alley Harley-Davidson Museum Lakefront Brewery The New Fashioned AXE THROWING BAR

DOWNTOWN WEST ALLIS CLASSIC CAR SHOW

AXE MKE FINALISTS NorthSouth Club BAR FOR QUIET CONVERSATION

AT RANDOM

FINALISTS Cars & Coffee Cheaterama Car Show - South Milwaukee Georgie Porgie's COCKTAIL LOUNGE

FINALISTS Bryant's Cocktail Lounge Busby's Layman Brewing BAR ON A BUDGET

AT RANDOM FINALISTS Blu Boone & Crockett Bryants COMEDY CLUB

NEWPORT FINALISTS Creed's Foggy Dew Dreamers Classic Bar Monica’s BAR TO BE SEEN IN

COMEDYSPORTZ MILWAUKEE

THE BAR AT SAINT KATE – THE ARTS HOTEL FINALISTS NorthSouth Club The Wiggle Room Tied House Milwaukee BAR TO WATCH SOCCER

FINALISTS Keg Stand Up at Lakefront Brewery The Laughing Tap COUNTRY BAR

NASHVILLE NORTH FINALISTS Big Sky Country - State Fair Schotzy's Steny's CRAFT BEER SELECTION AT A BAR

NOMAD FINALISTS Moran's Pub The Highbury Three Lions Pub BAR WITH A PATIO

SUGAR MAPLE FINALISTS Busby's Fourth-N-Long Ope! Brewing Co. DANCE CLUB

BOONE & CROCKETT FINALISTS Blackbird Bar Fluid The New Fashioned BEER GARDEN

MAD PLANET

SOUTH SHORE TERRACE KITCHEN & BEER GARDEN FINALISTS Estabrook Park The Vine Whitnall Beer Garden BLOODY MARY

FINALISTS LaCage Niteclub Lucid Wiggle HAPPY HOUR

BLACKBIRD BAR

SOBELMAN'S FINALISTS Layman Brewing Lobby Lounge at The Pfister Hotel The Wicked Hop

FINALISTS Mason Street Grill Maxie's Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill HOOKAH LOUNGE

CASABLANCA FINALISTS Dream Lab

FINALISTS Dead Bird Brewing Company Garcade X-Ray Arcade

36 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

DECEMBER 2025 | 37

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE HOTEL LOUNGE

MOCKTAIL SELECTION

TRIVIA NIGHT

AUTO BODY SHOP

THE BAR AT SAINT KATE – THE ARTS HOTEL

BOONE & CROCKETT

BLACKBIRD BAR

PEREZ AUTOMOTIVE

FINALISTS Agency Station No. 6 The Wiggle Room NATURE CENTER

FINALISTS Creed's Foggy Dew Lakefront Brewery Ope! Brewing Co. WHISKEY SELECTION AT A BAR

FINALISTS Pinkey's Capital Auto Body VCA Auto Body AUTO DETAILER

SCHLITZ AUDUBON NATURE CENTER

THE VANGUARD

FINALISTS Bar West The Pfister Tre Rivali IMPORT BEER SELECTION AT A BAR

CAFE HOLLANDER FINALISTS Busby's Moran's Pub Mulligans IRISH PUB

COUNTY CLARE IRISH INN & PUB FINALISTS Mo's Irish Pub Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill Paddy's Pub JAZZ CLUB

CAROLINE'S JAZZ CLUB FINALISTS Bar Centro Blu The Estate KARAOKE BAR

AMPED FINALISTS Faklandia Graingers Jackalope Lounj LIVE MUSIC VENUE

CACTUS CLUB FINALISTS Bud Pavilion Riverside Theatre The Rave Turner Hall X-Ray Arcade MARGARITA

BOTANAS FINALISTS Cafe Corazon Paloma Tied House Milwaukee MARTINI

BLU FINALISTS Don's TV Repair Shop Mo’s...A Place for Steaks Tied House Milwaukee MICROBREWERY/TAPROOM

OPE! BREWING CO. FINALISTS Eagle Park Lakefront Brewery Layman Brewing MILWAUKEE TOUR

LAKEFRONT BREWERY TOUR FINALISTS Best Place at Pabst Historic Milwaukee Shaker's Cigar

38 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

FINALISTS Hawthorn Glen Urban Ecology Center Wehr Nature Center NEW BAR (OPENED IN 2025)

ST FRANCIS BREWERY FINALISTS Bar 920 Dirty Dime Mallards OLD FASHIONED

BOONE & CROCKETT FINALISTS Copper On King Layman Brewing The New Fashioned Tied House Milwaukee PET-FRIENDLY ESTABLISHMENT

OPE! BREWING CO. FINALISTS Black Husky Riley's Bar + Burger Riley's Social House & Sandwich Co. Station No. 6 - West Allis PLACE FOR FAMILY FUN

WISCONSIN STATE FAIR FINALISTS Reunion Restaurant - West Allis Safehouse The New Fashioned Urban Ecology Center ROCK CLUB

CACTUS CLUB

FINALISTS Maxie's Station No 06 Tied House Milwaukee WINERY

COOPER'S HAWK WINERY BROOKFIELD FINALISTS Apple Works Winery Cache Cider Chiselled Grape Winery

REAL ESTATE REAL ESTATE AGENCY

MILWAUKEE FLAT FEE HOMES FINALISTS Keller Williams Realty Of America Shorewest Realtors REAL ESTATE AGENT/BROKER

PAUL STEVENS FINALISTS Amanda Schroder Lisa-Marie Franco-Garcia Peter Adams - Coldwell Banker Realty RENTAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT GROUP

WELCOME HOME MILWAUKEE FINALISTS Harmoniq Residential Realty Of America Vandelay Group

FINALISTS Linneman's Riverwest Inn Sabbatic Shank Hall X-Ray Arcade ROMANTIC BAR

SERVICES RENDERED

AT RANDOM

FINALISTS JazNelly’s Tax Service Nelson Tax Accounting Ltd AESTHETICIAN

FINALISTS Blu Bryant's Cocktail Lounge Tied House Milwaukee SPORTS BAR

STENY'S FINALISTS Major Goolsby's Moran's Pub Pete’s Pub TRAVEL GATEWAY (BEST WAY TO GET OUT OF TOWN)

MILWAUKEE MITCHELL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FINALISTS Amtrak Fox Travel Intermodal Station Lake Express High Speed Ferry

ACCOUNTANT/TAX ADVISER

CONTABLE TAX GROUP

LOVELY SALON AND SPA FINALISTS Bloom Skin Spa EpidermiSpa Solskin Wellness LLC ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATION

WISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY FINALISTS Almost Home Cat Rescue MKE Happy Endings No Kill Cat Shelter Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission

METRO CAR WASH & DETAILING FINALISTS Detail Doctors Endless Detailing Van Horn Honda - Glendale AUTO SERVICE & REPAIR

MANYO MOTORS FINALISTS R & R Auto Services Riverside Automotive BANK

ASSOCIATED BANK FINALISTS Chase Tri City National Bank US Bank BARTENDING SERVICES

OVER THE MOON BARTENDING FINALISTS Last Call Beverages The Crafted Tavern BED AND BREAKFAST

COUNTY CLARE IRISH INN & PUB FINALISTS Brumder Mansion Honeybee Inn The Muse Gallery Guesthouse Washington House Inn BODY PIERCING STUDIO

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SAINT KATE – THE ARTS HOTEL FINALISTS Dubbel Dutch Hotel Iron Horse Kinn CARPET CLEANING

J & S CARPET CLEANING FINALISTS Shabahang CATERER

FLOUR GIRL & FLAME FINALISTS Bunzel's Old Fashioned Meat Market Noble Catering & Events Saz's Hospitality Group COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE FINALISTS Edessa School of Fashion Marquette University Mount Mary University

CREDIT UNION

EDUCATORS CREDIT UNION FINALISTS Landmark Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union DOG WALKER

TAILS N' TRAILS FINALISTS Milwaukee Paws Pet Care Off Leash MKE DOGGY DAY CARE/BOARDING

TAILS N’ TRAILS FINALISTS Bay View Bark Canine Einstein Dog City Hotel & Spa ESTATE SALE COMPANY

CHANO'S WAREHOUSE FINALISTS Golden Hour Estate Sales Lakeshore Estate Sales Landmark Estate Sales FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR GETTING A BUSINESS LOAN

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR GETTING A HOME MORTGAGE

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EDUCATORS CREDIT UNION FINALISTS Landmark Credit Union Summit Credit Union US Bank UW Credit Union HAIR REMOVAL

ROSE AESTHETICS FINALISTS 414 Beauty Beauty Marked LLC Bloom Skin Spa Lovely Salon and Spa

Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

HAIR SALON - MEN'S

HOME CLEANING SERVICE

GROOM FOR MEN

MOLLY MAID

FINALISTS BClip'd Barber Studio Lovely Salon and Spa Ortiz Brothers Parker Hair Studio Stag Barbershop HAIR SALON - WOMEN'S

FINALISTS GC Cleaning Magnificent Mamas LLC Maid Pro HOTEL ROOMS

MONARCH LOFT FINALISTS Julia's Hair Lounge Lovely Salon and Spa VitaBella Salon HAIR STYLIST - MEN'S

SAMANTHA BOYD – DAPPER & CO BARBERSHOP FINALISTS Alison Rahlf – Groom for Men Jordanne – Golden Hare Barbershop Parker Davis – Parker Hair Studio HAIR STYLIST - WOMEN'S

KALIE BOWES – HEIRLOOM STUDIO FINALISTS Bella Menore – VitaBella Salon Diffuse Hair by Michelle Emily Ernest at Studio 890

THE PFISTER HOTEL FINALISTS Ambassador Hotel Metro Saint Kate the Arts Hotel IMMIGRATION SERVICES

MARIA I. LOPEZ IMMIGRATION LAW FINALISTS Soberalski Immigration Law INSURANCE AGENCY

SHOREWEST INSURANCE FINALISTS Meissner Insurance Agency INSURANCE AGENT / BROKER

BRIANNA THOMPSON FINALISTS Ben DeGracie Jay Gumieny Ken Meissner

Jelly Sosa – Jelly Sosa’s Hair Bakery

DECEMBER 2025 | 39

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE JUNK REMOVAL

TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK FINALISTS Camo Crew Toss It Disposal LASHES

LASH MKE FINALISTS 414 Beauty LLC Flutter Beauty Bar Sólskin Wellness LLC LAW FIRM - BANKRUPTCY

DEBT ADVISORS LAW OFFICES FINALISTS Buss Law The Bankruptcy Law Office of Richard A. Check, S.C. LAW FIRM - BUSINESS

HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP FINALISTS Fox, O'Neill & Shannon, S.C. Hildebrand Law Michael Woodburn LAW FIRM - CRIMINAL DEFENSE

GIMBEL, REILLY, GUERIN & BROWN, LLP FINALISTS Fox, O'Neill & Shannon, S.C. Kim and Lavoy Pruhs and Donavon LAW FIRM - DIVORCE

NELSON KRUEGER & MILLENBACH FINALISTS Davis and Associates Attorneys at Law Gagne, McChrystal, De Lorenzo & Burghardt Reanna Grabow Wiemer Law Group LAW FIRM - ESTATE PLANNING

FOX, O'NEILL & SHANNON, S.C. FINALISTS Hildebrand Law Firm Sage Legal Group, LLC LAW FIRM - FAMILY LAW

NELSON KRUEGER & MILLENBACH FINALISTS Gagne, McChrystal, De Lorenzo & Burghardt MacGillis Wiemer, LLC LAW FIRM - FULL SERVICE

VON BRIESEN & ROPER, S.C. FINALISTS Fox, O'Neill & Shannon, S.C. Husch Blackwell Stafford Rosenbaum LLP

LAW FIRM - NEW (UNDER 5 YEARS)

SOBERALSKI IMMIGRATION LAW FINALISTS Amy Shapiro Family Law, LLC Sage Legal Group, LLC LAW FIRM - PERSONAL INJURY

GROTH LAW FIRM FINALISTS Hupy & Abraham Lindner Law, LLC Martin Law Office LAW FIRM - SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

GROTH LAW FIRM FINALISTS Bankruptcy Law Office of Richard A Check Hupy and Abraham Soberalski Immigration Law LLC MOVING COMPANY

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK FINALISTS Badger Brothers College Hunks Power Moves Relocation NAIL SALON

L.U.X.E NAILS MILWAUKEE FINALISTS Carrie's Cuteicles Nail Bar Milwaukee Willow Nail Salon PEST CONTROL

ADVANCED WILDLIFE AND PEST CONTROL FINALISTS Pest 2 Rest Pest Control The Bug Man and Queen Bee PET BEHAVIORIST / TRAINER

TAILS N' TRAILS FINALISTS All Paws In Bay View Bark Canine Einstein Wag the Dog and Company PET GROOMING

WHITNEY'S MOBILE GROOMING FINALISTS Dog City Hotel & Spa Embark Pet Spa PHOTOGRAPHER - PORTRAIT

MELISSA KEITH STUDIO M BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY FINALISTS Dee Von Drasek Photography Dominika Fitzgerald - Milwaukee Photo Company Jen Ellis

PHOTOGRAPHER - WEDDING

DEE VON DRASEK PHOTOGRAPHY FINALISTS Dominika Fitzgerald - Milwaukee Photo Company Lottie Lillian PICTURE FRAMING GALLERY

SOUTH SHORE GALLERY & FRAMING FINALISTS The Great Frame Up of Whitefish Bay

SPORTS AND RECREATION BOWLING ALLEY

LANDMARK LANES FINALISTS Bayview Bowl Falcon Bowl The New Fashioned DANCE STUDIO

DANCEWORKS

Tradewind SENIOR LIVING FACILITY

FINALISTS Pole Factory MKE Trinity Academy of Irish Dance ENDURANCE EVENT

ST. CAMILLUS

RIVERWEST 24

FINALISTS Capri Communities Cedar Community Clement Manor Hart Park Square The Three Pillars TATTOO PARLOR

FINALISTS Lakefront Marathon Milwaukee Marathon Sweet Home Milwaukee 5k FAVORITE BREWERS PLAYER

STR8 KLOWNIN INK FINALISTS The Skin Museum Trust Tattoo and Body Piercings Walker's Point Tattoo Company TRAVEL AGENCY

FOX WORLD TRAVEL FINALISTS A3 Travel Group with Dream Vacations - Angela Kallay Elm Grove Travel Starship Travel VETERINARIAN

COMMUNITY VETERINARY CLINIC FINALISTS Airport Animal Hospital Brentwood Animal Hospital Milwaukee Vet Clinic Riverwest Veterinary Clinic VIDEOGRAPHER

GONZALES VISUALS FINALISTS Eron Laber - Through Line Studios Ryan Von Drasek Samer Ghani WEALTH MANAGEMENT / FINANCIAL PLANNING

EDUCATORS CREDIT UNION FINALISTS Baird Northwestern Mutual Park Place Shannon Smith - Freedom Wealth Alliance WEDDING VENUE

THE IVY HOUSE FINALISTS River Valley Historic Venue South Second Story Hill FireHouse

SAL FRELICK FINALISTS Christian Yelich Jackson Chourio William Contreras FAVORITE BUCKS PLAYER

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO FINALISTS Bobby Portis Jr. Thanasis Antetokounmpo FAVORITE PACKERS PLAYER

JORDAN LOVE FINALISTS Micah Parsons Tucker Kraft GOLF COURSE

ERIN HILLS FINALISTS Brown Deer Golf Course Kettle Hills Lincoln Park Warnimont MINI GOLF COURSE

NINE BELOW FINALISTS Big Putts Mini Golf Gastrau’s Golf Center - Oak Creek Holey Mackerel Moreland Road Golf PADDLESPORTS RENT OR BUY

MILWAUKEE KAYAK COMPANY FINALISTS Brew City Kayaks REC SPORTS LEAGUE

BREWCITY BRUISERS ROLLER DERBY FINALISTS Konkel Park Softball Milwaukee Lawn Bowling Shuffleboard League at NorthSouth Club SSBL Milwaukee ROCK CLIMBING VENUE

ADVENTURE ROCK 40 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

FINALISTS Turner Hall Climbing Gym

Patterned background by GettyImages/Andrii Vinnikov.

90's illustrations by Bahtiar/maulana.

DECEMBER 2025 | 41

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

2025

BBC LIGHTING

DISCOUNT LIQUOR

FIVE O’CLOCK STEAKHOUSE

2015 W. St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee (414) 933-0808

5031 W. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee (414) 545-2175

2416 W. State St., Milwaukee (414) 342-3553

Shopbbclighting.com

919 N. Barstow Ave., Waukesha (262) 547-7525 Discountliquorinc.com

Fiveoclocksteakhouse.com

Boasting Wisconsin’s largest lighting showroom, you’re sure to find the right piece that fits your style. The friendly sales staff are readily available for answers to all your lighting questions.

C3 DESIGNS 2110 10th Ave., South Milwaukee (414) 764-3892 C3-designs.com C3 Designs is the best jewelry store in the Milwaukee area to help with your holiday gift giving ideas.

Store owner Chris Jensen is a nationally award-winning jewelry designer who has won over 25 awards for his custom creations. His design team at C3 Designs can help you choose the perfect one-of-a-kind gift for this holiday season.

42 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Discount liquor is your one-stop shop for all your gift-giving needs with our expansive selection of 8,000 wines, 4,000 liquors and 2,000 beers. Check out our huge variety of holiday liquor, beer and wine gift sets perfect for friends, co-workers and loved ones.

Find out why we have been voted the best for 24 award-winning years.

FISCHBERGER’S VARIETY 2445 N. Holton St., Milwaukee (414) 263-1991 Fischbergers.com There’s so much in stock this holiday season at Fischberger’s Variety!

Celebrating our 19th year and still bringing you the funnest, freshest gifts around! Add free gift wrapping and you’re done! Gifts for the whole family, always edgy and wholesome.

Always at the lowest possible price!

Make your holidays special and shopping easy! Purchase a $100 gift card and receive a $25 gift certificate.

Five O’Clock Steakhouse specializes in serving award-winning steaks and seafood paired with a notable wine list, classic cocktails, and outstanding personalized service.

GALLERY 507 GIFT SHOP 507 W. North Ave., Milwaukee (414) 307-4888 A new addition to the Bronzeville community, the Gallery 507 Gift Shop offers a curated selection of unique items from local artists and artists around the world, perfect for your holiday shopping. Your purchase directly supports the Bronzeville Center of the Arts and its future museum endeavors.

Header photo by GettyImages/RomoloTavani, Holiday background by GettyImages/FukuFuku.

Photo of left present pile by GettyImages/Acik, Photo of right present pile by GettyImages/izzzy71.

Snowy background by GettyImages/Melpomenem.

DECEMBER 2025 | 43

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE HARMONIC HARVEST

HARLEY-DAVIDSON MUSEUM

HEALIUM HOT YOGA-WEST ALLIS

250 N. Water St., Milwaukee (414) 373-1414

400 W. Canal St., Milwaukee (877) 436-8738

6679 W. National Ave., West Allis, (414) 616-1106

Harmonicharvest.org

harley-davidson.com/us/en/museum. html

Healiumhotyoga.com/hhy-west-allis

Rev up the holidays at the H-D Museum, where families can build and continue their own traditions and make lasting memories. Head to Breakfast with Santa on December 7, 14, and 21 for a full holiday experience including a delicious brunch buffet in Rumble, letter writing to Santa, cookie decorating, holiday movies and photos with our guest from the North Pole!

2534 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee (414) 232-2165

This holiday season, shop with purpose and discover handcrafted pieces that support artisans and our nonprofit mission. Harmonic Harvest fosters social sustainability by empowering community connection.

We envision a future where communities are woven together through meaningful gatherings, collaboration, and collective care.

We are located in the Third Ward in the Marshall Building on the 1st and 3rd floors.

HEALIUM HOT YOGA-BAY VIEW

Healiumhotyoga.com/hhy-bay-view HEALIUM RESTORE 435 E. Lincoln Ave., Milwaukee (414) 232-2165 Healiumhotyoga.com/ restore-bay-view HEALIUM HIIT 2865 Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee (414) 309-0472 Healiumhotyoga.com/hiit-bay-view Give the gift of Healium Yoga and HIIT this season! Our 5 Class Pack is on sale now through Dec. 31! Our class packs work at all four of our studios: Healium Hot Yoga-Bay View, West Allis, Healium Restore and Healium HIIT. 2025 Best of MKE Finalist!

44 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Holiday background by GettyImages/FukuFuku. Photo of present pile by GettyImages/ronstik.

Snowy background by GettyImages/Melpomenem.

DECEMBER 2025 | 45

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

HONEYBEE SAGE & WELLNESS

KNUCKLEHEADS WELLNESS

1819 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Milwaukee

2949 N. Oakland Ave., Milwaukee (414) 962-3052

207 E. Buffalo St., Milwaukee (414) 455-8247

Knuckleheads.shop

Honeybeesage.com HoneyBee Sage Wellness is an herbal beverage cafe that combines the unique concept of an apothecary, tea cafe, and alcohol-free craft cocktail lounge. It is the first of its kind in Milwaukee. Known for high quality products and superior service, our motto is “Elevation without intoxication!” HoneyBees thrive in community, and we joyfully welcome you to ours.

Slide on down to Knuckleheads Wellness and check out why Knuckleheads won “Best of Milwaukee” Best Head Shop, Vape shop and CBD Shop 2019-2024! With the holidays coming up, Knuckleheads knows exactly how to help you get into the Holiday spirit. Our Holiday sale runs Dec 13– Dec 24; with 20%-50% off the entire store! Need something before or after then? Check out our large variety of Wellness products.

MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN (MIAD) 273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee (888) 749-MIAD Miad.edu/holidaysale Join us at the MIAD Holiday Sale, an annual tradition! The MIAD Holiday Sale is your opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind art and design gifts, from sculptures to greeting cards, paintings, photographs, jewelry and more, created by MIAD students and alumni at affordable prices. Preview night: Dec. 4, 6-8 p.m., $10 admission.

Free admission Dec. 5, 5-8 p.m. and Dec. 6, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

MILWAUKEE FILM Mkefilm.org/gifts Give the gift of film! Milwaukee Film has gifts for all the movie-lovers in your life, from Gift Memberships to Cinema Gift Packs—plus 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival ticket packages available starting Cyber Monday!

Photo of left present pile by GettyImages/ronstik, Photo of right present pile by GettyImages/igoriss.

46 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Snowy background by GettyImages/Melpomenem, Holiday background by GettyImages/FukuFuku.

DECEMBER 2025 | 47

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

MILWAUKEE MAKERS MARKET MilwaukeeMakersMarket.com Dec. 7: “Early Bird Holiday Market” at Prairie Springs on Park Dec. 21: “Holiday Showcase” at Discovery World Milwaukee Makers Market encourages shopping Small, Local Businesses this Holiday Season! The Market will feature over 50 Local Businesses including art, jewelry, soaps, clothing, candles, unique gifts, Milwaukee themed accessories and more!

Admission to the Market is FREE! More information online.

48 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

MUSEUM OF WISCONSIN ART (MOWA) 205 Veterans Ave., West Bend (262) 334-9638 wisconsinart.org Champagne Shopping December 5–7 Find art-inspired gifts for everyone on your list this year at the MOWA Shop during Champagne Shopping!

Throughout this three-day event, members sip champagne while they shop and receive exclusive discounts on a wide variety of products from Wisconsin-based artists and makers.

Remember, a MOWA membership makes a great gift, too. Beginning at just $15, membership grants access to exhibitions, art making, tours, and so much more. Crew Membership receive 20% off and Member Plus and Above receive 30% off.

Visit wisconsinart.org/join.

OLD GUARD GAMES 3132 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee (414) 988-0161 facebook.com/OldGuardMKE/ Come check out Milwaukee’s premier destination for tabletop gaming!

Offering a vast selection of Magic the Gathering, Warhammer 40K, Pokemon, chess and board games, plus miniature wargames and figurines, Old Guard Games is a must-stop for your holiday shopping.

OLLIE SKINCARE Ollieskincare.com Providing the best high quality and natural skincare gifts in Wisconsin, we carry a variety of specialty soaps, the popular whipped tallow and Bath & Body collections. With eight years of happy customers who swear by the benefits of our products, you can't go wrong with a gift from Ollie Skincare!

Holiday background by GettyImages/FukuFuku. Photo of present pile by GettyImages/Okea.

DECEMBER 2025 | 49

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE REFRESH VINTAGE

THE DEKOVEN CENTER

921 E. Ogden Ave., Milwaukee refreshvintage.com

2000 Wisconsin Ave., Racine dekovencenter.org/christmas-2025

The premier destination for stylish, vintage clothing and decor. Refresh Vintage has something for everyone on your list! Visit our website or stop by our store!

Celebrate the holidays at “Christmas at DeKoven” on Sunday, Dec. 7!

This new family-friendly festival features local artisans, festive food, live music, a gingerbread competition, and a live nativity scene—all on our beautiful historic lakeside campus.

Free entry.

RENAISSANCE BOOKS Milwaukee General Mitchell Airport Public Side of TSA Checkpoint (414) 747-4550 instagram.com/ renaissancebooksmilwaukee/ Thank you for supporting our local, independent, and family-owned store-since 1959. Come visit the world’s first and only used bookstore in an airport, conveniently located on the public side of the TSA Checkpoint. Renaissance Books sells used, new, rare, antique, and first edition books. Now offering bookish accessories as well. Free parking with purchase..

50 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Holiday background by GettyImages/FukuFuku. Photo of present pile by Photo of present pile by GettyImages/Acik.

Snowy background by GettyImages/Melpomenem.

DECEMBER 2025 | 51

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE JEWELERS GUILD 2408 E. St. Francis Ave., St. Francis (414) 488-2727 Jewelers guild.biz Looking for something that says “only me” this holiday season? Join us at the Jewelers Guild where we feature stunning fine jewelry all made by hand in our studio! From classic to whimsical, the Jewelers Guild offers beautiful bespoke jewelry to fit every budget. Or give the gift of classes! Yes, we do that too! Gift Certificates, custom jewelry, watch repairs, and appraisals, all under one roof.

Local.

Handmade.

The Jewelers Guild.

52 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

THE TOOL SHED: AN EROTIC BOUTIQUE 2427 N. Murray Ave., Milwaukee (414) 906-5304 toolshedtoys.com The Tool Shed believes that loving our bodies is a revolutionary act, and that sexuality, pleasure, and intimacy are central to human well-being and health. We offer a curated selection of quality sex toys, lubes, body products, books and gifts in a welcoming atmosphere. Questions? Our friendly staff of sexuality educators is available to help. Drop by our store to shop in person or go to toolshedtoys.com to shop from the comfort of your home.

Holiday background by GettyImages/FukuFuku, Photo of present pile GettyImages/vnlit.

Present background GettyImages-Longfin Media.

Snowy background by GettyImages/Melpomenem.

DECEMBER 2025 | 53

CULTURE

Violins of Hope

at Jewish Museum Milwaukee

BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

A

n orchestra of men in prison stripes waited for “This is not just a Holocaust exhibit,” Abramson says. “We the trains at Auschwitz, ordered to serenade the want the viewers to understand antisemitism but also to new arrivals, lulling the captives into a false sense understand who the Jews are—our history, our identity.” The of calm. Many Jews sent by the Nazis to the camps carried museum hopes to provide the context with panels explaining their violins with them. After the Holocaust, some of those klezmer as well as figures from Jewish cultural life. A timeline instruments were collected by a family of luthiers in Tel Aviv of Jewish history runs along one wall of the exhibit, starting for a project called Violins of Hope. This fall, the Milwaukee in 825 BCE with Solomon’s Temple and winding through Youth Symphony Orchestra hosted a Wisconsin tour that the Roman occupation of the Holy Land, the Crusades, the brought some of those instruments to various performing Expulsion of Jews from Spain … the Dreyfuss affair in 1894 arts venues across Wisconsin. Many are displayed at the France, the Immigration Act (1924) that restricted Jews and Jewish Museum Milwaukee as part of “Violins of Hope: Strings other unfavored groups from entering the U.S. … of Jewish Resistance and Resilience,” an exhibition guest curated by the Holocaust Research Education Center (HERC). “The violin is an instrument of exile—it’s portable,” says the Jewish Museum’s curator, Molly Dubin. Some of the exhibit’s HERC’s executive director, Samantha Abramson, tells the violins are identified with owners who managed to escape origin story of Moshe Weinstein, “who fell in love with the into exile ahead of the Holocaust. Other owners remain violin the first time he heard one—at a Jewish wedding. nameless, but their stories can be inferred. One instrument He learned to play klezmer music and was trained as a is inlayed with a mother of pearl Star of David, indicating luthier” before leaving Poland in the late 1930s during a that the owner was a klezmer musician; the weathered wave of antisemitism. He was fortunate to exit ahead of topside suggests that its last months were spent outside, the Nazi invaders who murdered his parents and siblings. played under degrading circumstances at the orders Years later in Tel Aviv, he began collecting violins owned of camp guards. Another violin is split open to show an

by Holocaust survivors and passed the legacy to his son insidious story. The label indicates it had been repaired in and grandson, Amnon and Avshalom, who arranged Germany in 1936 by a luthier who scribbled a swastika and performances with the instruments around the world.

Heil Hitler inside before returning it to its owner who went to Although each violin is linked to a traumatic story, “Amnon his death unaware of the hateful message within. thought destroying any one of them was a violation of the Among the musician casualties of the Holocaust was Alma human spirit,” Abramson says.

Maria Rose, niece of Gustav Mahler, forced to lead the HISTORY AND IDENTITY women’s orchestra at Auschwitz. Bits of Nazi propaganda The Jewish Museum’s exhibit opens in a space whose films are included in the exhibit’s videos, purporting to show curvaceous walls suggest the gracious body of a violin well-treated Jewish detainees enjoying concerts. and includes the instruments alongside text panels, videos, dioramas and interactive displays.

54 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Happier stories include the career of the Polish Jewish musician, Bronislaw Huberman, who founded the Palestine Symphony Orchestra (now the Israel Philharmonic) in 1936 and is shown in a photo at the inaugural concert.

The conductor that night, Arturo Toscanani, was one of the world’s most celebrated classical musicians and an avowed anti-fascist.

The Holocaust murdered six million Jews but failed to destroy the Jewish people and erase their cultural contributions. “Strings of Jewish Resistance and Resilience” speaks to that survival.

“Violins of Hope: Strings of Jewish Resistance and Resilience” runs through January 25 at Jewish Museum Milwaukee, 1360 N. Prospect Ave. For more information, visit jewishmuseumilwaukee.org.

David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express and author of Hammer of the Gods: The Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism.

Photos of Violins of Hope Exhibit by Molly Dubin, courtesy of Jewish Museum Milwaukee.

Illustration of music notes by GettyImages/Kharom Pleedee.

DECEMBER 2025 | 55

CULTURE

This Mont h in Milwaukee 10 Things to do in December

BY CAROLINE DANNECKER, DAVID LUHRSSEN, NATALIE MURRAY, BLAINE SCHULTZ, BEN SLOWEY AND JULIA WATT

THROUGH DECEMBER 21

DECEMBER 6

DECEMBER 8

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play Stackner Cabaret/ Milwaukee Repertory Theater Director Jonathan Hetler gave this holiday classic—a familiar story to many—new life by incorporating original music and fully committing to the adaptation in both story and medium.

The camaraderie between the actors— who were themselves playing actors cast in various roles for the station’s broadcast—was a joy to watch. Each cast member succeeded at making another laugh, and as an ensemble, they captured the spirit of a tight-knit team of creatives intent on making a good piece of art.

Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church The MMO celebrates its 125th anniversary this season with a program featuring, according to band member Fred Pike, “songs from the golden era of American mandolin orchestras” (pre-World War II). “We always do light classics—we’ll perform the Carmine Suite, and a newly commissioned piece

by Josh Schmidt. Robyn Pluer will join us on a few songs.” MMO also performs December 7 at Plymouth Church on Milwaukee’s East Side.

MSO Mondays Colectivo Coffee Wauwatosa Coffee houses have long been havens for live acoustic music. Here’s a twist, a trio of string players from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra with a live playlist you might not hear anywhere else.

Violinist Jennifer Bouton Schaub, violist Michael Lieberman and bassist Broner McCoy set the scene.

56 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Photos of champaigne glasses by GettyImages/RomoloTavani.

DECEMBER 2025 | 57

CULTURE

DECEMBER 12

DECEMBER 23

DECEMBER 31

Season for a Smile: Lack of Reason w/ The Grovelers, Palm Ghosts and The Quilz X-Ray Arcade The Team Bryce Foundation is a nonprofit devoted to giving children with disabilities a reason to smile. The fourth annual celebration and benefit concert features artists who appeared on the two volume Season For a Smile holiday compilation albums.

The Commercialists Play the Music of A Charlie Brown Christmas Turner Hall Ballroom The 1964 soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio is a holiday classic. Likewise, “The Commercialists play the music of A Charlie Brown Christmas” has become a tradition with the Milwaukee trio Anthony Deutsch (piano and voice), Clay Schaub (bass) and Patrick Morrow (drums) reviving the familiar tunes.

Two performances, 6 and 8:30 p.m.

New Year’s Sobriety Pow Wow Tthigwe Gymnasium in Wgema Campus, 3232 W. Kilbourn Ave. Milwaukee Intertribal Circle invites the community to gather for a New Year's Sobriety Pow Wow on December 31 at Tthigwe Gymnasium in Wgema Campus, 3232 W. Kilbourn Ave. The celebration of Indigenous culture, song and dance is free to the public and kicks off at 4 p.m.

DECEMBER 19 Teenage Bottlerocket w/ Boris the Sprinkler and Rodeo Boys Shank Hall Expect a wild night of music.

Wyoming’s Teenage Bottlerocket brings a “perfect concoction of Ramones-esque pop-punk,” Green Bay legends Boris the Sprinkler combines highbrow songwriting with lowbrow nonstop stage antics.

Rodeo Boys is “what happens when the Miller High Life gets legs and starts walking around on its own. A rippin’ four piece from Lansing, MI is for queers and steers alike.”

58 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

DECEMBER 31 New Year’s Eve at the Bar Saint Kate-The Arts Hotel Dance the night away with friends and family at The Bar at Saint Kate’s extravagant New Years Eve party.

Attendees can enjoy live entertainment from 3 p.m.-1 a.m., complimentary party favors and a champagne toast at midnight to ring in the New Year.

DECEMBER 31 New Year’s Eve at Noon Betty Brinn Children’s Museum Families can ring in the New Year at the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum with a beach-themed party filled with fun activities and play-based learning from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Party goers can look forward to a beach ball dance, face painting, hat making, a giant beach ball drop and more, well before bedtime.

Photos of champaigne glasses by GettyImages/RomoloTavani.

DECEMBER 2025 | 59

LIFESTYLE ASK ALLY

Dear Ally,

Now that the holidays are upon us, I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m caught in the middle between the disagreement between my dad and sister. My mom died two years ago, and it’s been hard on all of us. She’d be devastated about their relationship and would stop at nothing to bring them back together. But I can’t do that.

Thanksgiving was a disaster. My father and sister just glared at each other and didn’t talk. After so much work in preparing the meal, my only reward was tension around the table.

I hated it. My husband and kids felt it too. After they left, my son said, “Thanksgiving used to be fun, but this year it was horrible.”

Dear Torn,

I’m so sorry about your mom’s passing.

Time is a great healer. This quote about grief says it all. “Grief does not want to be solved. It wants to be held.

Sat With. Witnesse …. It’s the shape of love after loss.” (Tierra Stockham.)

Your mom will always be in your heart.

I bet she’d want you to prioritize taking care of yourself and your family rather than getting in the middle of the struggle between your dad and sister.

It’s natural to “try and assist,” but this is an example where you need to let them figure it out. Oftentimes, our willingness to help, robs them of a valuable learning opportunity.

They each need to navigate whatever triggered the fight in the first place.

“Less is more,” in this case. The less you do, the more it forces them to solve the problem themselves. All of you will be stronger if you stay out of it.

60 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Both my dad and my sister try to influence me to take “their side” of the issue, rather than leave me out of it.

I’m trying to stay neutral, but I feel I should do something to get things back to normal. I have no idea of what would that be.

I offered to host our holiday dinner this year before they started fighting.

Since Thanksgiving, they don’t want to show up at family gatherings anymore.

My family doesn’t want to repeat another tense holiday.

Because so much of my emotional energy is wrapped up in my father and sister’s drama, my husband and kids feel ignored. I feel like I’m disappointing absolutely everyone around me.

Can you help?

Torn

But what’s the holidays without family?

It’s more important now than ever, since Mom is no longer with us.

Until they resolve their differences, you will need to see them independently and expect their absence at family gatherings. You can try to explain your choice by saying, “I love you both. Because of that, I cannot take sides. Holidays are meant to be with family and celebrated.

At Thanksgiving, even my kids noticed the tension. I have to think about them.

Once you make up, we can all be together. In that way, there will be room for joy and no space for tension.”

You can also add: “I really miss our time together.”

Regarding your husband and kids feeling ignored: this is a tough one.

Moms feel this way often because we have been raised to believe that we’re supposed to be the universal caretakers for everyone and everything.

Sometimes we make mistakes and need to forgive ourselves. You need to do that. You cannot control the actions of others, like your father and sister’s behavior at Thanksgiving. You can only change your reaction. You are doing that by being open and letting them both know that they need to put aside their differences.

Stand strong and model the behavior you want to see in others.

If you start thinking more about standing up for yourself and less about disappointing others, you might start to feel better about yourself, your family and even the world.

You can do this!

Here for you,

Ally

Send your questions to AskAlly@shepex.com.

LIFESTYLE OUT OF MY MIND

Christmas Awaits Our Return

BY PHILIP CHARD

M

aybe you’re one of the growing number of people who step back, take a long, thoughtful look at Christmas, the copious gifts, convivial parties, and festive decorations and, although cognizant of the wonder of it all, issue this sort of pronouncement:

“Get thee behind me!”

Don’t like the holidays much? Well, join the growing crowd who find that the commemoration of Christ’s birth (a la America) engenders little joy and heaps of temporary insanity. If I sound too “Bah humbug” for your liking, it’s probably because you remain in that shrinking sub-culture who still enjoy a merry and peaceful holiday season.

Maybe you complete your gift list by Labor Day. Perhaps your Christmas cards are out shortly after Thanksgiving. Possibly you’re not much for pricey items, big holiday parties, binge eating or alcohol-induced neardeath experiences.

How you differ from the frenetic masses.

GIFT GLUTTONY Those crazed by Christmas engage in a dastardly tug-ofwar between the cultural expectation that they wallow in gift gluttony, credit card maximizing, power eating and family overdosing, while simultaneously embracing the holiday’s intended spirit of peace, joy and spiritual renewal.

Reminds me of the parental admonition to a teenager about to leave on a hot date: Have fun and be good.

Hey, make up your mind.

It’s hard to make Christmas about peace, love and joy when it’s mostly characterized by shopping until you drop, baking marathons, abdominal distention and near-bankruptcy.

There is no peace in still paying December’s credit card purchases in June. Joy does not rise from gaining five pounds in two days. There is no love in a mega mall crawling with hyperactive consumers clutching yard-long shopping lists.

Header image by GettyImages/by-studio.

FRENZY AND OVERLOAD What’s worse, if you find Christmas a time of frenzy and overload, expect others to chastise you for saying so, likely labeling you a Scrooge. Some holly-jolly type may slap you on the back and ask, with condescending glee, “Where’s your Christmas spirit?”

In a place that’s unmentionable.

Those of us who find this season far more maniacal than merry sometimes mistakenly look for Christmas where we won’t find it, inside finely wrapped packages, cookies, hot toddies and dysfunctional family gatherings. It’s not there.

As the Grinch of Dr. Seuss’ story discovered, Christmas isn’t about stuff, or decorations or even celebrations. It is about giving of ourselves, and not just from our pocketbooks.

It’s easy to spend money (just look at our collective consumer debt), but it takes real heart to spend oneself.

We are the Grinch that stole Christmas, and there’s only one way to save this holiday from ourselves. Give of what we have that holds true value, like our time, our caring, our empathy, our will to sow a little love in a world long on hate, indifference and cruelty.

Go caroling at a nursing home. Befriend an enemy.

Give fewer gifts and, instead, more of your attention to someone who gets little. Invite a lonely person for Christmas dinner. Sing carols with your family instead of staring at the boob tube or face planting on some electronic device. If it snows, take a walk in the woods.

Christmas didn’t leave us. Sometime during the evolution of modern capitalism, we left it.

Lonely but hopeful, it awaits our return.

Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.

DECEMBER 2025 | 61

HEAR ME OUT DEAR RUTHIE | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

HO, HO, HOLD YOUR BOUNDARIES DEAR RUTHIE, I need you to be my holiday helper! Each Christmas, I visit my family, and they act like I’m still waiting to meet the right girl.

I’m out, I’m proud and I’m tired. How do I handle the small talk without losing my cool?

“MARY” CHRISTMAS,

Gurlbye DEAR BYE,

Family gatherings are like fruitcake — full of nuts and hard to swallow. Set boundaries: “We can talk about my life but let’s not rewrite it.” Then, arm yourself with distractions (silly stories about your friends, pictures of your dog in a Santa hat or a well-timed trip to the kitchen).

Ho, ho, hold your boundaries. If they still won’t behave, smile and say, “Santa knows who’s on the naughty list, and it’s everyone asking about my love life.”

XXOO

Ruthie

Have a question for Ruthie? Want to share an event with her? Contact Ruthie at dearruthie@shepex.com.

Follow her on social media, too!

Facebook: Dear Ruthie | Instagram: RuthieKeester | Twitter: @DearRuthie

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DEAR RUTHIE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Ruthie's Social Calendar DECEMBER 2 2025 SHEPHERD EXPRESS BEST OF MILWAUKEE PARTY AT HARLEY-DAVIDSON MUSEUM/THE GARAGE (400 W. CANAL ST.): Mix and mingle with the city’s movers and shakers during the party that keeps Milwaukee talking all year long. Who will be named best bartender? Most popular custard stand? Yummiest bakery? Favorite drag queen? Stop by the 6 p.m. bash and find out.

DECEMBER 4 JOLLYDAY PARTY AT WALKER’S PINT (818 S. SECOND ST.): The team at Walker’s Pint invite you to enjoy a little holiday cheer with this party that serves up music, drink specials, food and more. The fun starts at 5 p.m. and runs well into the night.

OPENING NIGHT IRVING BERLIN’S HOLIDAY INN AT BOMBSHELL STUDIO THEATRE (19700 W. BLUEMOUND ROAD): The beloved Christmas musical takes center stage in this delightful production from Bombshell Theatre. Check out the company’s new digs when you nab seats via www.bombshelltheatre.org. Hurry!

The run closes December 21.

DECEMBER 6 & 7 MOSTLY CHRISTMAS JOYS FROM MOSTLY CHRISTMAS BOYS AT PITMAN THEATRE (3401 S. 39TH ST.): The city’s choir for gay men and their allies, Our Voice, presents this seasonal offering that puts a little cheeky fun into Christmas. Two performances make it a snap to enjoy the classic carols, Broadway favorites and funloving parodies. Visit www.ourvoicemke.org for tickets, showtimes and more.

DECEMBER 11 OPENING NIGHT ANNUAL GOLDEN GIRLS SPECIAL AT LACAGE NIGHTCLUB (801 S. SECOND ST.): What happens when Rose butts heads with Blanche’s boyfriend? Will Dorothy get along with her daughter-in-law? Why is Sophia acting like a teenager?

Find out during this all-new show. Get tickets at www.ticketleap.events/events/ lacage/GG-2025 before the all-original comedy closes December 21.

DECEMBER 14 “CHRISTMAS WISHES, LETTERS TO SANTA” WOMEN'S VOICES MILWAUKEE CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT OAK CREEK ARTS & EDUCATION CENTER (340 E. PUETZ ROAD): Make the holidays extra bright with a 3 p.m. concert. Featuring all the seasonal charm you’ve come to expect from this talented group, it’s one show sure to make memories. Stop by www.oakcreekpaec.com for tickets.

DECEMBER 21 HO HO HOLIDAY PARTY AT POP (124 E. WELLS ST.): The gang at Pop wants to make your holiday merry with an 8 p.m. party. Enjoy craft cocktails alongside Pop’s popular pizza and finger foods as you dance the night away. If you haven’t been to Pop lately, Christmas is a great time to check it out!

DECEMBER 24 A CHRISTMAS CAROL AT PABST THEATER (144 E. WELLS ST.): Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the annual spectacular has become a tradition for thousands. The Milwaukee Rep helps you fit this production into Christmas Eve with two performances. See www.milwaukeerep.com for tickets.

DECEMBER 26 CLOSING NIGHT THE NUTCRACKER: DROSSELMEYER’S IMAGINARIUM AT MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (929 N. WATER ST.): Soak up every last bit of holiday magic with this annual delight from the Milwaukee Ballet. Nearly 200 dancers take to the stage to entertain, entrance and evoke the merriest of merry as we bid adieu to Christmas. See www.marcuscenter.org for tickets.

DECEMBER 27 QUEER CRAFTERNOON AT MKE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER (315 W. COURT ST.): Whether you draw, knit, paint or simply color, enjoy this friendly noon event. Grab your supplies and head over to the center for a few hours of friendly conversation while you craft with likeminded folxs. See www.mklgbt.org for details.

DECEMBER 2025 | 63

HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

A Winter’s LGBTQ Reading List

BY PAUL MASTERSON

Photo of books by GettyImages/Cunaplus_M.Faba.

T

here is nothing like a good book to while away a winter’s day in front of a crackling fire, or to give as a perfect holiday gift. This season, the realm of the LGBTQ printed word offers a full spectrum of titles to engage even the picky reader.

Leading the list are the works of local author, playwright and impresario (and winner of the 2025 Shepherd Express LGBTQ Progress Award for the Arts) D.H. Gutzman. Recently released are several new titles to add to his dozen or so LGBTQ-themed mysteries and historic fiction. The most recent is Le Legionnaire, a murder mystery of gay romance, riffs and revenge set in 1939 Capri with a backstory that takes the reader from Chicago to Algiers and includes the likes of Cole Porter, Noel Coward and Mussolini’s son-in-law (and others) among its cast of characters. Gutzman’s knack for writing spellbinding page-turners makes any of his novels unreservedly recommended. They are available solely through Amazon in Kindle or hardcopy formats.

I turned to Milwaukee’s Gay Men’s Book Club member Konrad Kuchenbach for reading recommendations based on the group’s monthly selections. He noted the Club’s picks feature both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ authors and cited several titles, many of which were selected by maven of all things literary Carl Szatmary, the former owner of Outwords Books and founder of the Milwaukee LGBT Film Festival.

64 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

“The first book we read by a non-gay author was Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby in which the fathers of two gay sons seek revenge for their brutal murders,” Kuchenbach said. Among the list are several works by Percival Everett: James, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel about an escaped slave set in the antebellum South; and Erasure, about the foibles of Black publishing that was made into the movie American Fiction. He also cited Wounded, overhung with the specter of Matthew Shepherd, and Trees, a novel that came out of Emmett Till’s murder. “All are very good reads with gay characters and broader connection to the social challenges of life in America,” Kuchenbach said.

SONG TO MYSELF Another Club recommended title is Song to Myself

by Arnie Kantrowitz. Kuchenbach described the work as “a wonderful picaresque novel that covers American gay history from the 1930s to the turn of the century.

Kantrowitz was a lover of Walt Whitman as is the main character of this novel that includes Whitman's poetry is sprinkled throughout the book.” One of his “guilty pleasures” is Edmund White, whose last book The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir—he describes as “a delight” and also mentioned his preference for author Andrew Holleran.

LGBTQ history comes to life through a number of this season’s selections. They include the newly published biographies of two of the greats of LGBTQ arts and letters, Black writer James Baldwin and portraitist Don Bachardy.

Uw Credit Union 7.375 x 4.875

Released in August of this year, Nicholas Boggs’ Baldwin: A Love Story recounts the life of the 20th century’s leading gay Black author in a four-section format defined by Baldwin’s relationships and career. The 500-page tome is an exploration of queer identity and has been embraced by critics as a work of “immense scope and profound insight.”

Weighty but thoroughly engaging, it should lead readers to read some of Baldwin’s classics (if they haven’t already).

A second freshly released biography is Michael Schreiber’s Don Bachardy: An Artist’s Life. The author tells the story of the famed American portraitist who shared his life and art for over three decades with literary gay giant Christopher Isherwood. Schreiber’s bio shares insights and recollections gleaned through one-on-one conversations with the artist. Liza Minnelli called the work “A marvelous dance with words, enchanting, heady and daring!”

Speaking of Bachardy, his own Stars in My Eyes is a mustread follow-up, offering the reader a personal glimpse into the artist’s many sittings with celebrities of the last century including composer Aaron Copland, Bette Davis, Paulette Goddard and Ingrid Bergman. Bachardy’s candid impressions of his subjects from the self-absorbed to the self-effacing are themselves as revealing as the portraits he made of them.

Edited by Peter Parker, the two volume set, Some Men in London: Queer Life 1945-1959 and Some Men in London: Queer Life 1960-1967 offers a collection of short pieces in the form of diary entries, letters, police reports and other writings that serve as a Dantesque trip through the various circles of London gay life from the immediate post-war days of repression to the tentative dawning of liberation through the 1960s. Compelling and provocative, it serves as a reminder of the LGBTQ community’s relationship with hate and discrimination and a timely clarion for its continued engagement in its struggle for essential human rights.

Meanwhile, back in Milwaukee, a new destination for the literarily inclined is the woman-owned, queer-owned The Well Red Damsel: A Romance Bookstore (6429 W. North Ave.). Owner Natasha Meyer opened the romance-centric shop earlier this year and touts a “carefully curated selection that highlights diverse love stories, unforgettable characters and happily-ever-afters in every form.” The Well Red Damsel also hosts literary events, readings and book clubs that range from “Fantasy” and “Queer-themed,” to “Unhinged,” “Yee-Hockey” and “Well Nourished.” Meyer will certainly be happy to suggest stocking stuffers and more for those cold winter nights.

Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.

DECEMBER 2025 | 65

ART FOR ART'S SAKE

FROM THE CITY

That Always Sweeps

BY ART KUMBALEK

I

’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, I hear it’s now December: the month of the winter solstice (the 21st), the day with the fewest daylight hours, certainly a boon to vampires all over the Northern Hemisphere; so I suggest to you holiday gift-buyers out-and-about that you keep a keen eye out for fellow shoppers who may appear to be bat-crazy (numerous, they will be), I kid you not.

It can be a stressful time of year, and so a confession I must make: I thought by golly at this late date in the season, I’d have this holiday song I’ve been working on for years ready for your preview, ’cause if you hear what I hear this time of year every year, you know damn well that the creaky seasonal canon needs new ammunition.

Yes sir, I believed that my tune, “Every Day’s Just Another Focking Holiday,” not only would hit the charts with a big ol’ bullet but it would be the first holiday tune in human history that could be played each and every day of the year.

And then some hotshot impresario would turn it into a Broadway musical and I’d be a millionaire, what the fock.

But I’m having troubles working out the bridge to the tune, such that I feel like jumping off it like a regular George Bailey, and it definitely is not a wonderful life. Not when you’re also flirting with the iron maiden of deep, dark despair on account of another failure—that being my inability once again to get the Art Kumbalek Mistletoe Belt Buckle to the holiday market. This really blows.

And I tell you, based on the number of queries I field throughout the year as to the availability of this fine gift idea, the Art Kumbalek Mistletoe Belt Buckle is also a million-dollar moneymaker waiting to happen. You may recall that the AKMBB is conceptualized to be so much more than just a focking stocking-stuffer gag gift, in that the belt buckle is designed to be compatible with the Art Kumbalek Big Boy Belt. Modeled on Batman’s ultra-handy utility belt, the snazzy Big Boy Belt—to be available with the Mistletoe Belt Buckle for only an additional buck two-eighty—would sport all kind of clips, loops and high-tech doo-dads so as to hold practical items like a can of Miller High Life, Swiss Army knife, prophylactic, loaded flask, carton of Pall Malls, an extra pair of socks; prepared to service truth, justice and the American way.

66 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

But alas, what with the production and supply-chain schmutz, Artie Santa can’t locate a decent sweatshop. A lot of these Fourth World elves are looking to make 14 cents an hour and I simply can’t do business if I have to focking fork out blue-chip Third World wages like that. Hey, who could?

Beats me.

And I know that some of you’s may also be feeling failure and disappointment this time of year, and the least I could do is give you a handy tip since I got experience in this area.

You know what I do when I get disappointed cum out of whack?

Nothing, not a damn thing that’s what, ’cause why bother?

Just suck it up and steady yourself for the next load of dashed desire due down the pike any second. And never ever forget that your crap casserole might not be some other knucklehead’s filet mig-focking-non; so what makes you think you’re so hoity-toity special you can’t have some disappointment once in a while? Hey, you tell me.

And then I’ll tell you to remember this, from the English poet John Donne about 500-focking years ago: “No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if Clod bee washed away

by Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.”

Jeez louise, those old farts couldn’t spell for crap, ain’a?

I had to read the above a couple, three focking times until I understood that the important thing not to forget is that every time a bell rings, an angel gets their wings.

So, there you go. And as a devotion upon an emergent occasion, I wish you happy holidays, merry Christmas, joyous whatever-it-is-you-got-deserves-celebrating.

And be damn sure to celebrate your holiday good and plenty. You just can’t ever be 100 per-focking-cent sure that it may not be the last one you’ll get; so make it a good one, what the fock, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

photo by GettyImages/monkeybusinessimages. photo edit by Timothy Czerniakowski.