Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Milwaukee Loves Laverne & Shirley at 50

Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!
If those words instantly make you smile, you’re not alone. Turns out, Milwaukee still loves Laverne & Shirley, 50 years after the sitcom first premiered.

The iconic show, starring Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams as two hardworking roommates at the fictional Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee, turns 50 this week. And few places embrace that legacy more enthusiastically than Lakefront Brewery. It is one of the city’s original craft beer pioneers.

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Listen to the complete discussion here:

Lakefront founder and owner Russ Klisch shares how the sitcom is woven into the brewery’s DNA while talking with Jamie Martinson and Brian Noon, hosts of Civic Media Mornings. Klisch says since around 2005, every Lakefront tour ends the same way – with guests singing the Laverne & Shirley theme song.

“It always brings a lot of smiles to people’s faces,” Klisch explains. “It’s one of the few times you ever get to sing on a brewery tour.”

Unique Tour with a Special Finish

The song resonates even more deeply for some visitors. The show’s message — doing it our way — strikes a chord with women who came of age when manufacturing jobs weren’t always welcoming places for them. So during the song, tour guides encourage guests to raise their fist while singing “do it our way.” Klisch calls it a moment that hits home.

“You see all these ladies in their 50s, 60s, 70s really get into it,” he says. “It meant something — and it still does.”

Klisch says Lakefront leans fully into all of the nostalgia. The tour ends at the bottling line, echoing the show’s opening credits, and it even features equipment salvaged from the old Schlitz Brewery in Milwaukee. It’s a fitting homage in a city built on beer history.

But what may really set the Lakefront tour apart is all the personality involved in it. There’s no script, and the tours are led by comedians and theater folks who bring their own style every time.

“Each guide does it like their own little act,” Klisch explains. “You can take the tour twice and have a completely different experience.”

And yes — the beer does come early and often.

Tie the Knot at the Brewery Tanks

Beyond sitcom singalongs, Lakefront is also known for one of Milwaukee’s most unconventional Valentine’s Day traditions. Brewery weddings and vow renewals. Couples can tie the knot surrounded by tanks, taps, and cheering strangers. Just bring $25 and a marriage license. The vow renewal ceremonies are even easier. Show up, renew your promises, and enjoy a free beer to celebrate.

“All of a sudden we announce, ‘Mr. and Mrs. so-and-so,’ and everybody stands up and claps,” Klisch says. “It’s actually pretty great.”

Meantime, fifty years after Laverne & Shirley put Brew City on TV screens across the country, the spirit lives on — in raised fists, shared laughs, and the unmistakable sound of a room full of strangers singing together at the end of the tour.

And if this leaves you humming the theme song and craving a beer?
You just may be doing it – Milwaukee’s way. 🍺