New Restaurant Plays Up Pub Food, Classic Tunes and Deck Seating

Instead of looking at snow, picture yourself sitting out on an expansive, shaded deck on a warm summer evening, eating fish fry and sipping your favorite beverage with Van Morrison playing softly in the background.

Sound good? Mark Zierath hopes so. He's putting his money on a restaurant with good food, a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and lots and lots of outdoor seating.

In fact, during the summer months, Zierath wants to practically bring the outdoors in during the warm months at his proposed Jackson's Blue Ribbon Pub, at the current location of , 11302 W. Blue Mound Rd.

"There are two very large picture windows facing Blue Mound Road on the south and 113th Street on the east," he said. "Those will come out and be replaced by full floor-to-ceiling garage-type doors opening out onto a wrap-around deck with a pergola on top."

Zierath says he wants to open as soon as possible after he gets final approvals from the city, perhaps in March. He said not much work could be done before a March opening, but he already has plans laid for the new deck and open wall features and will have them installed by the time the weather warrants sitting outside.

"Definitely, we'll have it up and running for spring and summer," he said.

Zierath said his food and atmosphere is intended to attract mostly a mature crowd.

"I'm in my late 40s," he said, "and for my tastes it will skew more toward me than to 21-year-olds.

"It's going to be on the high end of pub food, with the best ingredients we can find and sourced locally if possible. We're going to have a Friday fish fry that's a little different. We'll have the traditions everyone expects, but we're also going to have a char-broiled salmon basket."

Zierath said Jackson's "might skew a little younger" in the summer because he plans to have shuttles for events such as Brewers games and State Fair, and because he's big into team sponsorships.

"Baseball, softball, volleyball, bowling leagues, anyone who comes along we'll probably sponsor," he said.

Putting your own spin on the place

Music is a big part of atmosphere for Zierath, and he's got an idea that he's perfectly positioned to implement.

"We're going to have a Vinyl Night every week, maybe on Tuesdays," he said. "We'll actually spin vinyl records on a turntable. My uncle has a collection with upwards of 15,000 records, most of them classic blues and jazz.

"He's going to let me borrow from his collection, a great set of classics each week."

Asked if guests would be welcome to bring their old vinyl records in for a spin, Zierath said, "Absolutely, definitely."

During the rest of the week, music will also be in the air but more in the background. "No loud rock 'n roll, no rap music," he said. "You might hear Van Morrison."

Zierath said he wants his pub to be a welcome presence in the neighborhood, laid-back and friendly without being raucous. He also wants to become involved in the community, welcoming charities and fundraising appeals for local causes.

Zierath won committee approval Tuesday to transfer the liquor license from JoJo's, and the Common Council will consider it next week. He also needs approval of his refurbishing plans, which have been presented to city planners.

Zierath is also the owner of Molly Cool's Seafood Tavern in downtown Milwaukee at 1110 Old World Third St., but he said he would be the hands-on, day-to-day manager at Jackson's Blue Ribbon Pub.