City Of Milwaukee Licenses Committee Anonymously Approved Class B Tavern And Public Entertainment License For Felipe Martínez Jr. To Open The New "Lounge Live" At 705 S. 1st Street

The Milwaukee Common Council Licenses Committee anonymously approved a new Class B Tavern and Public Entertainment license for Live Lounge at 705 S. 1st Street.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

September 12, 2024

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Tuesday, the City of Milwaukee Common Council Licenses Committee anonymously approved a new Class B Tavern and Public Entertainment license for Felipe Martínez Jr. from Live On 1st, LLC to open the Live Lounge at 705 S. 1st Street.

Martínez Jr. formerly operated the Walkers Lounge MKE at 627 S. 5th Street, which is now permanently closed after the Licenses Committee voted not to renew the tavern license after several patrons were shot during an altercation between patrons inside the Lounge on January 1, 2023. The shooting victims survived. The Licenses Committee on January 24, 2023 voted for nonrenewal of the Walkers Lounge MKE tavern license. Also Milwaukee police on January 3, 2023 submitted and filed a noticed Nuisance of Premises for the address, according to the Licenses Committee hearing.

Martínez appealed the decision, but it was upheld by the court.

Martínez during his testimony on Tuesday told the Licenses Committee members that he plans to remodel the inside of the building at 705 S. 1st Street and will access to the McDonald's parking lot and also have a parking lot with surveillance cameras across the street, planning to have at least 5 unarmed security guards inside and at least three security guards outside once Live Lounge opens and depending on the occupancy, which could add additional security and staff. A tentative plan is to have at least two armed security guards outside and have 6 Valet parking employees as well. (Video of hearing at Licenses Committee link: https://tinyurl.com/bnyvhszj)

On Wednesday, Martínez's father and another man who were at the 705 S. 1st Street building doing some remodeling of the building were brutally assaulted and beaten by multiple Black male students from Bradley Tech after some female Black students were twerking on top of a vehicle. The students were told by Martínez's father and the other man to get off the vehicle, then the male students attacked both elderly men.

Multiple Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School (Bradley Tech) students have been taken into police custody. (Article link: https://tinyurl.com/55f4c7pu)