Urban Milwaukee20%
Council Kills Controversial Bar Proposal 7%
By Sophie Bolich4%
7/31/2026, 1:36:59 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 9 faulty reasoning types, including Recency Bias, Post Hoc (False Cause), and Confirmation Bias, with Middle Ground as the most egregious example at 8.2% saturation with 37 hits. Analysis detected 216 faulty-reasoning hits from 453 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 17.5% and a BS Rank of 7% (24,336 of 25,928 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 93.90% of the article peer group.
1230 N.
Van Buren St.
Photo by Mariiana Tzotcheva.
A controversial proposal that would have brought a new sports bar to the former Victor’s space at 1230 N.
Van Buren St. was denied by the Common Council Friday morning.
The unanimous decision, one of the body’s final acts before its August recess, follows a highly public Licenses Committee hearing earlier this month that, after hours of testimony and heated debate, ended in a rare deadlock.
Committee members revisited the file in a special session before the full council meeting.
Special meetings are routinely scheduled to address unfinished business and are held in the Common Council chambers.
Unlike regular public committee hearings, special meetings are not broadcast online, though audio is recorded.
Ald.
DiAndre Jackson moved to deny the application.
Alds.
JoCasta Zamarripa and Alex Brower voted in support, while Ald.
Andrea Pratt abstained.
Ald.
Peter Burgelis , who previously recommended approval for the license, was excused from the meeting.
Zamarripa, who abstained during the committee’s initial vote, recalled the “difficult hearing” on July 21.
“There were valid points made on both sides of the issue, and there were weak points made on both sides,” she said, adding that she’d “taken the time” in recent days to think through her final decision.
Brower said his votes against the proposal were driven by community feedback.
“I think it’s really important for people to have the ability to set up businesses how they want, and normally I err on the side of that,” he said.
“But in this particular circumstance, given the amount of neighborhood objection, I can’t support this.”
The committee’s recommendation passed the full council unanimously.
While leadership at Ava’s could reapply in the future, area Ald.
Robert Bauman has repeatedly said he does not support a tavern at the site and has instead pushed for residential redevelopment.
The council’s denial comes more than a year after the tavern was initially proposed as Vick’s on Van Buren.
Since then, Kyle Atut and Paresha Pesqueira have met with community members and revised several aspects of the proposal, including the business’s name, hours and entertainment offerings.
The future of the former Victor’s building remains uncertain.
Greg Kastenholz owns the property through 1230 Van Buren LLC, according to city assessment records.
Neither Pesqueira nor Bauman responded to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Redeveloping the 0.44-acre property could prove challenging.
It’s an L-shaped lot, where the key corner is occupied by two other buildings on separate properties.
Additionally, there is no rear alley, which would allow for more flexibility with windows and access.
Shortly before Victor’s closed, the 251-unit Nova apartment complex was completed across N.
Van Buren Street.
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