A Franksville-based company installed an ice structure Friday morning at St. Paul Fish Company at the Milwaukee Public Market in the Historic Third Ward, transforming the restaurant into an “ice bar.”
The Ice Bar, by Art Below Zero, consists of a block-ice structure surrounding St Paul Fish’s outdoor bar area along Broadway.
It is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday with seasonal food and drink options available.
The Ice Bar is expected to be open for about six weeks.
“The intersection of Broadway and St Paul Avenue is arguably the busiest in the Third Ward, with a swarm of pedestrian traffic, especially during the warm weather months,” said St Paul Fish owner Tim Collins. “Wisconsinites tend to be more resilient to the cold than people realize. This is a chance to create a fun atmosphere, embrace the seasonal weather, bring people together and cure our winter cabin fever.”
The Milwaukee Public Market is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the city with record breaking sales in 2016. Customer visits were up 11 percent in 2016, with 1.54 million people visiting the Public Market last year.