Bootz Saloon Off to Strong Start

Oh, certainly. There was never a doubt it would have a mechanical bull.

"It" would be , 8950 S. 27th St., also known as the newest - OK, only - country music bar in Oak Creek.

And a mechanical bull isn't all the place has to offer. Though it surely is the most prominent.

I recently dropped by Bootz and spoke with co-owner Ryan Sell to find out how business has been .

Sell told me that Bootz is well on its way to establishing itself as a destination for people looking to have a fun night out.

The bar hosts a DJ on Thursday and Friday nights and a live country band on Saturday nights. But Bootz has made a point to line up different entertainment options every day of the week, from trivia on Tuesdays to Packer parties on Sundays. (You can find out the whole slate on the official Bootz website)

The bar even offers a little something for people who may not be into country music. The food is cooked on a wood-burning smoker and the menu includes a wide array of southern BBQ platters, sandwiches, salads, wraps and more.

Sell said business started off slow, but as more people came to find out about the place - and as Bootz got a better handle on what it was trying to be - its popularity quickly grew.

"Every single week it gets better and better and better," said Sell, who previously was a manager at Fanatics sports bar in Milwaukee's Third Ward.

"It's just the word getting out. People know we're here now, and they’re having a good time so they’re going back and telling everybody else."

For several years, the building was home to Arizona Grille. But the restaurant, , had been struggling, which its owner mostly blamed on the 27th Street location and a lack of development happening around it.

But so far, the Bootz management team has been pleased with the location, Sell said. Even some of the bar's neighbors have become regular customers, according to Sell, who said he was originally worried about the reaction from residents used to living near a sit-down restaurant.

"We've surrounded ourselves with good people and, I think, in a community that’s accepting as well," Sell said.

And of course, I had to ask about the aforementioned mechanical bull. It may not be unusual to see in some places, but it definitely marks a departure from what the space used to be and plays a prominent role in the bar's interior. 

"We all said right away, if we're going to be a country bar, we gotta have a mechanical bull," Sell said. "It's a lot of fun. It's enjoyable to watch people, it's enjoyable to ride. It was definitely something right away we all felt like we had to do."

Not that it was easy. Getting it in place was quite a task in itself: it had to be driven up from South Carolina and the owners had to get insurance on it.

"A lot of places," Sell said, "don’t want to insure a mechanical bull."