Guided Tour
Drink at the haunted punk bar
Visit Sabbatic during regular hours to sit in the 1895 corner saloon where management leaves an unclaimed shot of Powers Irish whiskey 'for the ghost.'
- Duration:
- 1.5 hr
Photo coming soon
Haunted Dining / Bar
Sabbatic
Punk-rock dive bar in an 1890s Walker's Point corner saloon — once a brothel and a Prohibition 'soft-drink parlor' — where a 2010 bartender encounter and ongoing footsteps on the empty second floor anchor the lore.
700 S 2nd St, Milwaukee, WI 53204
Age
21+
Cost
$$
Standard dive-bar drink prices; occasional cover for live music.
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story corner saloon; main bar is at street level. Upper floors are private/storage.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1895 · Continuously operating tavern building since the mid-1890s · Early-20th-century boarding house and brothel for Milwaukee dock workers · Prohibition-era 'soft drink parlor' / speakeasy · Anchor of the Walker's Point independent music scene since 2009
The Sabbatic building sits at the southeast corner of South 2nd Street and West Pierce Street in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood. The cream-brick two-story corner saloon dates to the mid-1890s and has been a tavern, in various forms, for nearly its entire existence. City directories list the building as a 'soft drink establishment' during Prohibition — standard contemporary cover for a speakeasy — and as a tavern through the post-Prohibition era.
In its early decades the upper floor housed roughly ten small bedrooms, which Urban Milwaukee and Milwaukee Magazine report were operated as a boarding house and brothel serving longshoremen and other workers from the nearby Menomonee River and Milwaukee River docks. The corner saloon below served those same workers.
The space later operated for many years as the Union House tavern. In December 2009, owner Sam Berman reopened the room as Sabbatic, intentionally preserving the working-class saloon character of the room while adding punk-rock visual identity: red lighting, a large painting of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, skulls, candles, and rotating local concert posters and artwork. Sabbatic has been profiled in Urban Milwaukee (2014 and 2019), OnMilwaukee, and Milwaukee Magazine as a flagship of Milwaukee's independent live-music and dive-bar scene.
Sources
- https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2019/12/10/bar-exam-sabbatic-is-very-historic-yet-punk/
- https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2014/02/18/taverns-sabbatic-a-neighborhood-bar-with-punk-blood/
- https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/hidden-gem-sabbatic
- https://www.milwaukeemag.com/Sabbatic/
Apparition of an old man with long gray hair in a suit (Feb 2010 bartender sighting)Footsteps on the empty second floorFemale apparition reported on upper floor by paranormal investigatorsApparition reported in the basement liquor room
Sabbatic is profiled in Milwaukee Magazine's 'Ghost Town' feature and in US Ghost Adventures' Top Ten Hauntings: Milwaukee article. The signature account comes from a bartender named Matty Gonzales (also written 'Matt Gonzalez' in some sources) who, in February 2010, was closing the bar for the night. As he took the trash out he turned and saw a 'skinny old man in a suit with long gray hair' standing inside the locked bar — a man who appeared to glide without moving his legs. Per Milwaukee Magazine, Gonzales was so unsettled he left the building without closing out his register.
Beyond the Gonzales encounter, Sabbatic staff report footsteps emanating from the empty second floor where the old brothel rooms once stood. According to Milwaukee Magazine, a previous owner confirmed his staff had witnessed strange occurrences in the basement liquor room, including an apparition. Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee describe additional reports of a melancholy female apparition on the third floor looking out the window, and a ghostly maintenance-type figure in the basement ballroom.
Management reportedly keeps an unclaimed shot of Powers Irish whiskey behind the bar at all times with a note reading 'For the ghost,' a tradition consistent across multiple write-ups of the venue.
Notable Entities
The Old Man (skinny, long gray hair, suit)The Melancholy Woman (upper-floor window-watcher)
Plan Your Visit
1 way to experienceSources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sabbatic family-friendly?
Sabbatic is a 21+ bar with a punk/live-music atmosphere. Not appropriate for children regardless of paranormal interest. Overall family fit: Not Recommended.
How much does it cost to visit Sabbatic?
Standard dive-bar drink prices; occasional cover for live music.
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Sabbatic wheelchair accessible?
Sabbatic has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Historic two-story corner saloon; main bar is at street level. Upper floors are private/storage..