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Ian Maizont bought Porky's on Squire, 3557 E. Squire Ave. in Cudahy, 2.5 years ago. His plan was to keep it simple: provide a fun corner bar with fairly priced drinks and bar dice. And for the most part, that's Porky's. Until Christmas time.
"We've expanded the decorations each year, and plan to keep doing that," says Maizont.
This year, the decorating process took 12-14 hours for Maizont and a couple of staff members. They hung hundreds of tinsel strands, lights and ornaments from the ceiling, put up a pink Christmas tree and employee stockings, adorned the walls with wrapped gifts and Polaroid pics of customers, and festooned the Sasquatch.
Wait, what?
"That's what you buy when you get drunk at the State Fair," says Maizont.
The Sasquatch is not the only quirky aspect of Porky's. There's also a couple of taxidermied animals, including the bar's beloved "stripper squirrel," a hot pink toilet seat in the (very clean!) women's bathroom, and $1 "glizzies" (roller dogs) for sale instead of the typical bar fare like frozen pizza.
"I hate serving pizzas. You put one in and then everyone smells it and wants one. Roller dogs are much easier," says Maizont.
Maizont got the idea to serve hot dogs from a bar he visited in New York. At first, he served them as a joke. But once he realized the dogs were flying off the rollers – he sells a couple hundred a week – he realized they were a viable moneymaker. Porky's also offers a "glizzy shot," which is a shot with a hot dog used as a straw, and a "shovel shot" that includes a swift whack to the head.
"We do a lot of dumb stuff," says Maizont.
As for the name? People of a certain age, ahem, might remember the 1981 raunchy teenage-sex comedy, "Porky's," but the film was not the inspiration for the bar's moniker. Instead, it's a nod to the iconic Patrick Cudahy business.
"It smells like bacon or pork around here every other day, so the name made sense," says Maizont.
Porky's customers are a range of people. Many are from the neighborhood, especially the older folks who come in during the day to play video bowling. The bar also attracts a lot of industry folks and young people who moved to the area in search of cheaper rents and mortgages than available in Walker's Point or Bay View.
"Cudahy is changing. It's not 10 years behind the times anymore," says Maizont. "I got lucky getting this place when I did. I bought it turnkey, with plenty of room for personality."
Porky's on Squire will host a Christmas party on Saturday, Dec. 27, from 4 p.m. to close, with a DJ and giveaways. The bar is open from Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to close and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to close. Follow Porky's on Facebook.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
