{"id":2461821,"date":"2026-06-16T10:40:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T10:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2461821"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T10:40:55","slug":"new-owner-of-st-michaels-pub-plans-to-keep-allouez-dive-bars-charm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/new-owner-of-st-michaels-pub-plans-to-keep-allouez-dive-bars-charm\/","title":{"rendered":"New owner of St. Michael’s Pub plans to keep Allouez dive bar’s charm"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s the end of one era and the beginning of another at St. Michael\u2019s Pub<\/a>, but if it doesn\u2019t look like anything has changed, then things are off to a good start.<\/p>\n\n

In May, after 41 years as the face of the place, owner Mike Bloomer <\/a>turned off the \u201cOpen\u201d sign for the last time at 1539 Riverside Drive in Allouez to embark on retirement at age 75. Of all the fixtures in a building that date back to roughly 1900, he was by far the dive bar\u2019s most treasured. You don\u2019t log more than a half-century in the local bar business if you’re not a people person with a quick wit.<\/p>\n

Bloomer has\u00a0turned\u00a0the keys over to Harry\u00a0Mazaheri. He\u2019s one of the new proprietors, but it\u2019s hardly his first encounter with St. Mike\u2019s, now officially known as St. Michael\u2019s Public House (still just St. Michael\u2019s Pub for short though).<\/p>\n\n

He\u2019s been coming to the bar for nearly a dozen years, so when Bloomer asked if he was interested in buying it, there was no arm twisting required. Not even really any negotiations. Bloomer named his price and\u00a0Mazaheri\u00a0agreed.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI think everyone always dreams of owning a bar. I put myself in that group,\u201d said\u00a0Mazaheri, who is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was a minority owner in a couple of New York City bars when he lived there for 25 years. \u201cThe place is fun. I liked all the people who came here. Just wanted to continue it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He appreciates the building\u2019s history, dating back to a stagecoach stop, then a brothel upstairs and a long run of bars, but he also knew it would require some repairs. OK, quite a few repairs. The transfer of the liquor license meant there were things that had to be brought up to code, like plasterboard on the walls, handrails on stairs and new restroom faucets.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needed and still needs a bunch of maintenance that we\u2019re catching up on,\u201d\u00a0Mazaheri\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

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A leak in the roof is getting\u00a0fixed, as is the air conditioning, which hadn\u2019t worked for a number of years. The front awning will get some new shingles, and that dip in the bar floor has been fixed. The upstairs has been emptied of loads of \u201cMike stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

A custom round wooden sign is in the works for outside to replace the large weathered one that hung there for years. That one will be restored and displayed inside the bar.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Guinness on tap and a disco ball added, but most is unchanged<\/h2>\n

The whole idea is not to alter the rugged charm of the joint, so with the exception of a few Budweiser signs Bloomer took with him, much of the decor on the walls and shelves remains, including posters, clocks and Bloomer\u2019s bowling trophies. The one shiny new addition: a 19-inch disco ball hanging from the ceiling next to a Pabst Blue Ribbon sign.<\/p>\n

St. Mike\u2019s\u00a0hodgepodge\u00a0of mismatched office chairs of varying heights and condition are sticking around,\u00a0and so\u00a0is the old-school jukebox, where $1 gets\u00a0you\u00a0seven plays from a CD library handpicked by Bloomer.\u00a0Mazaheri\u00a0admits they did replace four albums that were skipping to make room for\u00a0ABBA,\u00a0Eric Church and\u00a0more\u00a0U2. He also replaced a couple of 20-year-old TVs with fuzzy pictures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not talking anything too fancy,\u201d he said. \u201cThe TVs are clear now.\u00a0You\u00a0can see them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Irish musician Gerry Sloan,<\/a> who is well-known on the Green Bay scene, is the bar manager. Patrons can now get a Guinness on draft, and there are plans to add another four or five beers on tap. St. Michael\u2019s doesn\u2019t serve food, but\u00a0Mazaheri\u00a0did add Hammond\u2019s Hand Made Pretzels, <\/a>a hand-rolled sourdough pretzel made in his hometown and shipped in bright orange tins.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the best pretzels ever. Good with beer.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still cash only at the bar, where regulars will see many of the same faces working behind it.\u00a0Mazaheri\u2019s\u00a0son\u00a0bartends\u00a0on Mondays with Sloan, and Bloomer\u2019s daughter has the Wednesday night shift, which is often the best chance to catch\u00a0“St. Mike” himself making a guest appearance.<\/p>\n\n

Mazaheri\u00a0has some ideas for theme nights, like a disco night, and has plans for Packers game days. He hints that Elvis or \u201chis long lost son” could be showing up. The bar will also host live music from Sloan and others in the back room of the bar.<\/p>\n

A new Facebook page <\/a>under the name St. Michael\u2019s Public House will keep patrons up to date on happenings.<\/p>\n

Mike Bloomer had a few words of wisdom for the new owner<\/h2>\n

For those hoping to still be\u00a0greeted by that\u00a0well-worn, no-frills, mom-and-pop\u00a0familiarity\u00a0that made the original St. Michael\u2019s Pub a Green Bay\u00a0neighborhood institution, it\u2019s not going anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plan was and continues to be not to change anything that changes the character of the bar. It\u2019s going to be the same place but slightly improved,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Mazaheri, who lives just up the street.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d say if\u00a0you\u00a0came here Monday night last week, you\u2019d probably see the same crowd (as this Monday night). We\u2019ve got the same regulars, the same people. Every so often someone new comes in, but most of the time, people don\u2019t even know it has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe the most important thing staying the same comes courtesy of Bloomer, who left Mazaheri with some simple advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe nice to people. It\u2019s a friendly place. Make sure\u00a0you\u00a0keep it a friendly place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kendra Meinert\u00a0is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com<\/a>. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n