The wait is finally over for Buck Bradley's: one of the staples in this community is opening their doors back up this Friday, at 3 p.m., after closing for five-and-half months because of the pandemic.
Wally Paget has owned the bar for the past 26 years. He explains why they closed.
"This is an event-based bar," Paget says. "It wasn't just the Bucks, and it just wasn't Marquette, but the lack of concerts, no Admirals games, nothing going on over there at the Performing Arts Center. We get action from all of that. We were losing $20,000 a month."
Paget was surprised about how excited people were when he decided to open back up.
"I started going by word of mouth, telling people what we're doing," Paget says. "I was just actually so moved. People were sincerely happy about what was going on. It really warmed my heart to know that this place matter."
It will be bittersweet for Paget when he unlocks the doors this weekend. His brother, Danny, who he co-owned the bar with, died of pancreatic cancer this past September.
"It was immensely tough," Paget says. "He was my best friend. He was basically the day guy, and I was the night guy. Every brick in this building, and every plank of wood in this bar, I see him everywhere. I could not let this place lay fallow any longer, with my brother putting his entire soul into this place."