MILWAUKEE — Security cameras captured the moment disaster struck at The High Note Karaoke Bar in Milwaukee on Sunday when ceiling tiles crashed to the floor as water poured from above.
General Manager Matt Schultz discovered the flooding disaster after checking security cameras.
"I woke up at about 1:30 saw motion on the cameras, and saw water dripping in front of the cameras," Schultz said.
When he arrived at the bar, the situation was dire.
"I come in and it's just raining in the bar…like puddles," Schultz said.
Water seeped through the ceiling for about 8 hours, causing extensive damage throughout the popular Milwaukee establishment.
Owner Evan DuQuaine explained that the flooding originated from the apartment above.
"Seven gallons per minute, it's about 3,360 gallons of water that made its way from his bathroom into the bar," DuQuaine said.
According to DuQuaine, the tenant upstairs had filled his bathtub and fallen asleep for eight hours, allowing water to continuously overflow and flood through the ceiling.
"Just like water dripping down from everywhere and I know that it did over $100,000 worth of damage," Assistant Mananger, Brenna Derenne said.
The damage means High Note will remain closed for at least a month while repairs are completed. This closure affects not just the business but the livelihoods of at least a dozen employees who will be without income while waiting on insurance to cover the losses.
The timing couldn't be worse for the business, coming just before what would have been their busiest period.
Watch: Popular Milwaukee karaoke bar seeking help after flood
"Unfortunately, this happened right before our busiest week of the year. Historically, this is the Northwestern Mutual Conference so we have had to cancel and refund a couple of private events for them," DuQuaine said.
While recovering lost revenue is important, Derenne emphasized that her priority is supporting the staff through this difficult time.
"Just checking in with everybody and making sure that they're gonna be okay with how they're doing. Seeing how severe not having the pay that some of them have…some of them are okay," Derenne said.
You can donate here to help the employees.
This story was reported by Megan Lee and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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