Saukville Bar Forever Remembered in Book About Taverns

A local tavern offers unique illustrations of the community it inhabits — serving drinks to people from all walks of life who mingle over counters and circle around pool tables.

In his new book, Tavern League, Carl Corey explores the many illustrations of Wisconsin by photographing taverns and owners throughout the state, including the former Wagen’s Bar and Grill of Saukville, which is now .

"You get to know just about everybody in town, from the mayor, to the police chief and everybody else," said Jim Wagen, owner of Wagen's.

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Corey said he found Wagen’s on one of his scouting drives around the state, and was immediately intrigued by its look.

"All the bars I found, I just would drive around and stop into places I thought were interesting, and see if they had a sense of aesthetic that fit the bill," Corey said. "Wagen’s is kind of a unique place. It had a signature to it."

Wagen’s son was working that day, so he is featured in the photograph. Corey said he liked that it was a family-run business, had a rich history and a certain air to it that can only be communicated by looking at it.

"There’s a reason I make pictures," Corey said. "I think they say more than I can say with words."

Wagen said the building has been a bar since the first records they've found of the place, going back to 1849. Wagen bought the bar in 1987 and ran it until selling it to the current owner, Jay Schwanz, in December 2010.

"We were there 23 years, and we had enough," Wagen said. "We were too old. I look back at it, and it was fun doing it."

Over the years, Wagen’s attracted many regular customers who created a homey ambiance.

"It was a friendly bar," Wagen said. "It was like a meeting place, where you’d go see people you know, and you talk to everyone in the place."

Now called J’s Sports Bar and Grill, the place has a new deck, a fresh coat of paint, and sports posters lining the walls. But Schwanz said many of the regulars are still coming back.

"The regulars still come in the afternoons that (they) used to," Schwanz said.