Doggie-style in Uptown

By Tony Peregrin in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 17, 2009 4:40PM

The wild thing about Wild Pug’s first anniversary is that it probably shouldn’t be happening at all, especially in this tepid economy, but bar owners Steve Milford and Brian Wells basically told naysayers to go pug themselves, and with a little hard work and ingenuity, the cozy Uptown gay bar is now celebrating one year in business. Milford and Wells are accustomed to doing things their own way. In 2004, they opened Crew—one of only a handful of gay sports bars in the country—despite lingering doubts from some that the gay community would not patronize a sports-themed establishment. Five years later, Crew is one of the most popular gay bars in the city.

“Yeah, the economy was a big shocker to both businesses,” admits Milford, 44, a resident of Uptown. “And we’ve had so many regular customers lose their jobs. But we’ve just had to try and run a tighter business. We watch the hours, order lightly, and turn off the lights when we aren’t using them. I am very excited to say each month is better that the last, and that is all due to the hard work of the great staff that we have here.” Wild Pug, an English-style pub, was originally named “Wilde Pug” as an homage to Oscar Wilde and his pet pooch (Milford theorized that if Wilde were alive today, he’d surely have a pug.) But due to expensive trademark attorney fees, they were forced to drop the “e.”

So, what prompted these guys to open a bar right next door to Crew? “One thing we noticed at Crew is that if you were there by yourself and could not get a seat at the bar, it was a little uncomfortable to hang out,” explains Milford. “Generally people do not like sitting alone at a table. Thus, we said ‘let’s create something different that is not geared toward sports and more geared toward singles.’ All the neighborhood groups and alderman Smith have been extremely supportive and we would not be here without them. Before Wild Pug opened the space was actually a small convenient store that sold more single cans of beer than it did milk.”

Wild Pug really is its own breed of gay bar, mainly due to its diverse event calendar, including monthly “Prose, Poetry, and Pints” nights, DJ VoxBox/Moosebox queer-themed dance parties, Gaysia (Asian-themed party), and the Make me An Underwear Model contest.

“Uptown used to be the entertainment district of the city and we are glad to see that part of its history come back to life. Wild Pug is a neighborhood bar that just happens to be gay-owned. We don’t think our sexuality should be that big of a deal. If I can eat wings at Hooters and not be offended by the large-breasted women in day-glow short-shorts, then why is drinking a beer in our bar that much different,” offers Milford with a good-natured laugh.