Loop Cafe
Milwaukee
Summary
Loop Cafe was a downtown Milwaukee diner at 5th and Michigan that served as an after-hours gathering spot for gay patrons from roughly 1964 to 1971. Listed in several national gay travel guides between 1966 and 1971, it stayed open around the clock and drew the bar crowd after closing time, including underage young people seeking community. Patrons recalled a two-room layout with a looping lunch counter, a jukebox, famously poor food, and a strict longtime waitress.
Earlier, in the 1940s and '50s, the establishment had operated as a "super bar" licensed to sell packaged liquor for off-site consumption.