The ubiquitous “I Closed Wolski’s” stickers, a treasured souvenir for those who make it to closing time at the famed East Side watering hole, can be found all over the world.
It’s an icon of Milwaukee, and the man who created that icon of Milwaukee, longtime Wolski’s fixture Mike Bondar, has died.
Bondar was a great-grandson of the bar’s original founders, who opened the business in 1908. Members of a fourth generation of the family continue to run Wolski’s, 1836 N. Pulaski St.
“The Wolski’s family shares bittersweet news: oldest brother, longtime bartender, caretaker and storyteller of the tavern, Mike Bondar, has passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends,” a statement from Bondar’s family reads.
Bondar came up with the idea for the stickers in the 1970s after “a crew of diehard customers wanted some recognition for sticking around from noon to 2 a.m.,” according to the statement.
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The stickers are handed out at the door at closing time and, as the tavern’s website states, “are earned, not purchased and require a late night at the bar.”
It’s become classic Milwaukee social media fodder to post photos of the bumper stickers found or brought to far-flung places – on the Brooklyn Bridge, a marker in the Scottish Highlands, a pole in the United Arab Emirates, a box on Mount Kilimanjaro. The Jeep in the Milwaukee Public Museum’s rainforest exhibit sported one for decades.
Variations of the stickers have cropped up over the years, including “Wolski’s Tavern Eat Before You Come” and “I’d Rather Be Wolskiing.” The slogan also appears on T-shirts that are available for purchase at the bar.
Bernard Wolski first opened the tavern and his three sons ran the bar for about 60 years. In 1973, Wolski’s great-grandsons Mike and Bernie Bondar purchased it from their third cousin. Their younger brother Dennis joined in once he turned 18. Bernie and Dennis still own it today, according to the website.
The Wolski’s family “invites everyone to raise a glass in Mike’s honor,” the bar’s statement says. “Stay late. Laugh loud. And if you close Wolski’s, know you’re part of something bigger – a story that spans generations.”
