Punch Bowl Social will bring games, food to Bucks complex
Punch Bowl Social will bring bowling, shuffleboard and Skee-Ball, along with karaoke and food and drinks, to a key building in the Milwaukee Bucks entertainment block.
The lease to the Denver-based company of the 24,000-square-foot building represents an important milestone for the Bucks’ development arm, responsible for the complex surrounding the team’s new $524 million arena.
The Bucks and Punch Bowl believe the business will attract customers year-round, not just on game or event days.
A large, lively business focused on millennials, Punch Bowl Social can accommodate about 1,000 customers.
“We think this is going to re-center in a lot of ways the way people in Milwaukee go out and where they go,” Punch Bowl founder and CEO Robert Thompson said in an interview.
Punch Bowl will open in early 2019, and it will be the first location in Wisconsin for the rapidly growing chain.
Punch Bowl describes itself as a “lifestyle brand” and is part of the growing “eatertainment” segment of the restaurant/bar business. It was named a 2018 Most Innovative Company by Fast Company magazine in the “gaming” category.
“They attract all ages and everyone has a highquality experience,” said Bucks President Peter Feigin.
Punch Bowl opened in Sacramento, California, near the new arena recently built for that city’s NBA team.
“We’ve seen it done in Sacramento, we’ve seen it done in Chicago,” Feigin said of the chain’s success. “They’ve proved their concept and we love it.”
In Milwaukee, Punch Bowl will occupy two levels and a large outdoor deck in a building on the south end of the complex just east of the new arena. The building is under construction.
“This is the largest physical space and the largest destination that we have” in the entertainment block, Feigin said.
There will be space remaining in the building for two small ground level tenants facing the beer garden connecting North Old World Third Street and the arena complex.
The Bucks recently announced that Good City Brewing Co. will lease half of another entertainment block building facing East Juneau Avenue.
Punch Bowl opened its first location in Denver in 2012 and is now in 14 cities.
The privately held company last year received an investment from L Catterton, the world’s largest consumer-focused private equity firm. The amount of the investment wasn’t made public, but it will allow the chain to double in size in the near future, Thompson said.
For several months, the company’s website has listed Milwaukee as among its upcoming markets but provided no details about the specific location.
Thompson said he scouted Milwaukee several years ago and returned to the idea as the Bucks plans for the arena complex came together.
“It’s a vibrant city,” Thompson said. “It’s a place where people like to have a good time. And Milwaukee is a community that likes to eat well.”
Punch Bowl signed a 25-year lease with the Bucks, Thompson said. The company is in the “experience business” and takes market share away from traditional “fast casual” restaurants, Thompson said.
“Everyone likes to bowl, and, after enough drinks, everybody likes to go to a private karaoke room.”
The business includes a restaurant, multiple bars and the “cage” where customers pay for hourly activities like bowling.
Punch Bowl can accommodate various types of customers, Thompson said. Some come for a drink or a meal and leave; others stay for hours playing games.
“We can modulate all of these experiences together under one roof,” Thompson said.
“Our core customers are millennials, but we cast a very wide net,” he said. “The millennials are defining what’s relevant and interesting today to the generations above and below them.”
Group outings and parties are a critical part of the business.
“Punch Bowl doesn’t work without that element,” Thompson said. “We do mostly corporate events but we also do a lot of wedding receptions. It’s a really important part of our business.”
Punch Bowl runs Saturday and Sunday brunches, and, during the day appeals to families for events such as kids birthday parties.
“It’s loud — you can have the most unruly family in the world and they’ll blend right in,” Thompson said.
Built with $250 million in taxpayer support, the Bucks arena opens at the end of August.