German-flavored drinking spot Von Trier to close, reopen as cocktail lounge

Von Trier, the German-flavored bar that has been a Milwaukee east side fixture at the corner of North and Farwell avenues for nearly 40 years, will be turned into a cocktail lounge.

Owners John and Cindy Sidoff said in a statement Tuesday that they will close the bar early next year for major renovations, then re-open it as “an upscale, classic cocktail lounge with a mid-century vibe.”

The move comes amid a host of changes to the bar scene on E. North Ave. Night spots such as Hotel Foster, G-Daddy’s BBC and Hotch all have closed in the last year or so.

Other operators, meanwhile, have failed to make a sustained go of the prominent space that once housed the Oriental Pharmacy and hardware store. The Twisted Fork restaurant lasted there seven years, but subsequent tenants — Replay sports bar and a Rosati’s pizza spot — closed after relatively short runs.

With Von Trier going cocktail, Milwaukee will lose one more marker of the German culture that once dominated the city. This year also saw the closing of Karl Ratzsch's, which for decades was one of Milwaukee's premier German restaurants.

Von Trier was opened in 1978 by German-born Karl Lotharius, who purchased what had been Rieder’s bar and transformed it into a German-inspired drinking spot.

In his statement, John Sidoff said he had concluded that the spot housing Von Trier “needed to undergo a bold change” in order to thrive. The cocktail lounge concept “will better support the evolving clientele and businesses of the North Avenue district,” he said.

RELATED:Von Trier begins serving a menu of sausages and other German dishes

Von Trier will remain open through the holiday season and will showcase its “Christmas Village” a final time. Before renovations begin, Von Trier will host an online auction of the bar’s collection of memorabilia, including beer steins, wood carvings and the wrought-iron, antler-accented chandelier designed by master craftsman Cyril Colnik.