There are a couple of things in life that make me as happy as a pig covered in you-know-what: cabana boys, sequins, fireworks on my birthday and bars with names so enticing that you want to put fruit on your head and join a conga line. Dick’s Pizza & Pleasure, the newest addition to Milwaukee St., falls into one of those categories (maybe two) so I couldn’t resist the urge to chat up the General Manager Adam Buttina and get the freshest dirt on a place whose namesake echoes that of one of those roadside adult superstores.
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| First floor of Dick's Pizza & Pleasure. |
RR: Who is behind the name Dick’s Pizza & Pleasure?
AB: Our beloved founder, Dick, is the true inspiration behind Dick’s Pizza & Pleasure.
RR: The “pizza” is self-explanatory but give me some detail on the “pleasure.”
AB: Dick’s Pleasure introduces a clean, sexy atmosphere, which uses its edgy LED lighting and global sounds to help transform this simple concept into an unprecedented, obscure nightlife experience. Thursday through Saturday are the nights that are offered on the second and third floor for now. We are bringing in the “Captains of Industry,” DJ Stonerokk and DJ Graham Funke, for Thursdays, promoting “Closet Freak” Fridays (“For Boys Who Like Boys, Who Like Girls And Their Boys”), and rotating celebrity DJs (DJ Rick Rude, DJ Rock City and DJ Excel) on Saturday.
RR: Milwaukee is littered with places to grab a beer and a pizza. How are you going to set yourselves apart?
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| Second floor of Dick's Pizza & Pleasure |
AB: First and foremost, we have a coal-fired oven. We are the first “pizza joint” in the greater Milwaukee area to have this type of oven. Our simple menu allows us to prepare coal-fired pizza using time-honored methods in dough and sausage production, ham curing and use of local produce to achieve the best pizza experience in the Midwest. As for the libations, we took your average cocktails, wine and beer and brought it to our level of thinking. The cocktails will be kept seasonal, with a twist to the classics, the tap-beer selection is meant to represent a classic Milwaukee beer tower, but with certain variations. We’d like to stay as local as possible but we are aware that there are a few staples that we can’t pass up. The wine will walk the same fine line as our food, simple but produced in a way that will honor the original methods of wine production.
RR: Who will your crowd be?
AB: Our crowd isn’t directed at anyone in particular. We are just trying to offer a very simple concept in the purest way possible.
RR: And how would you describe your interior to your audience?
AB: Risqué anime décor and a DJ booth positioned between two full bars set the tone for the second floor. Our VIP section has 30-foot vaulted ceilings and floating, futuristic plasma TVs but still kept intimate. Vibrant colors, a one-of-a-kind shot bar, another full bar and additional VIP seating help dictate the vibe on floor three. It’s a hard concept to explain but all of this will carry the energy throughout the night and we encourage you to come see it for yourself.
Dick’s Pizza & Pleasure opened its doors May 7 and the first floor will be open daily to serve lunch, dinner and those notable cocktails, beer and wine. Also available at the ground level, a unique collection of milkshakes, both alcoholic and virgin. I suppose not all pleasure needs to be of the X-rated variety.
Interview edited for length.
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