The Nitty Gritty Ageing with Style
by admin on 02/08/10 at 8:15 am
As Featured in the August 2005 Issue of Madison Originals Magazine
A quick quiz for self-described residents of a college town. Due to sporting events at the Kohl Center, you have been to the Nitty Gritty:
a) Once on game day
b) At least twice in one weekend
c) What’s wrong with sleeping on a cot halfway between the two?
If you haven’t heard of the Nitty Gritty, you’re most likely:
a) A brand spanking new freshman at UW
b) Visiting from Illinois
c) Helpless without your ear horn
If you haven’t been to the Nitty Gritty, you’re most likely:
a) On your way there now
b) Mortified at the thought of ageing in public
c) Suffering from leprosy
Well, all right, Madison—I won’t score this quiz. I know you know the Gritty. You’ve been there for birthdays, you’ve been there for lunches and dinners, and you’ve been there for drinks and good company. But “Madison’s Official Birthday Place” has a more varied past than you may be aware. Step inside the downtown location—now one of two in the greater Madison area—and you’ll discover a fes¬tive atmosphere fit for birthday parties celebrating people of all ages. Steep yourself in Nitty Gritty lore, however, and you may discover new ways to view a place you already enjoy visiting.
Founded in 1968 by Marsh Shapiro, the first-version Nitty Gritty thumped every night of the week with live bands. The content of the music and the atmosphere in which it was played rapidly established the Gritty as an unofficial meeting place for Madison’s protesting subculture. In fact, the 1970 Sterling Hall bombing—an event that took the life of a UW physics researcher and changed the course of Vietnam protests on campus—was plotted inside the walls of the Nitty Gritty. In 1969, after the Charles Musselwhite Blues Band played the Gritty, the bar established itself as one of the best blues clubs in the region. From 1969 to the end of 1974, performers like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Cheap Trick, and the Jefferson Airplane made stops at the Nitty Gritty. Arterial to Chicago, it was the heart of the Midwestern blues scene.
Though vastly different now from those heady days, the Nitty Gritty remains an establishment woven into the fabric of Madison’s campus and downtown communities—a fact evidenced by the num¬ber of returning customers. Lee Pier, the Nitty Gritty’s general manager, echoes this observation. “The Nitty Gritty had such a different starting than what it is now. It was the music scene in Madison, and it attracted intellectuals, thinkers, drifters. Sometimes those people come back, and it’s great to hear them say to their kids, ‘When I went to school in Madison, this is what it was like.’ They can say, ‘Yeah, I was here for the music, and they had to board up the windows because protesters were throwing rocks outside.’” As Lee says simply, “It’s a community landmark.”
Its interesting history isn’t the only credit the Gritty has to its name, of course. In fact, its owners’ perceptive willingness to change the restaurant according to local demand is probably the chief source of its success. With owners Marsh and Susan Shapiro at the helm, the Nitty Gritty’s popularity has compounded over the years, and is now at the point where expansion beyond its original location is a reality. Nevertheless, the Gritty is still the Gritty, as Lee explains: “We’ve tried to stay true to what we started in 1968. You know, people reminisce, and it’s a little bit different, but it hasn’t gone to marble. It’s still a down-home place to come and hang out.”
Lee himself has plenty to reminisce about. Having got his start as a bartender for the Gritty while debating whether to complete medical school in 1996, his current position as general manager is the latest in a series of roles he’s held with the establishment. Arriving before several recent remodeling and expansion efforts, he’s witnessed and aided in the Nitty Gritty’s growth. Though he is, as he says, “one of the veterans,” the subsequent changes still impress Lee with their swiftness.
“Wow! To think of what it was when I started working here,” he muses. “Now it’s more than doubled in size. There are good sides and bad sides to that,” Lee ad¬mits. “It used to be you were all friends, and now it’s 100 people, with some working one or two shifts a week. Not every¬one knows each other. It’s tougher to deal with—it presents some management challenges.” On the other hand, he points out, “Our staff has a good time with the customers. That part is definitely the same. We try to find people who will enjoy it, some¬one who’ll say, ‘All right, I’m gonna go make this person’s day right now.’”
Growth, Lee knows, doesn’t have to be about losing touch with the community. Now with a second loca¬tion in Middleton, Lee and his assistant general manager, Eric Suemnicht, are eyeing what could be a broader, more far-reaching future than even Marsh and Susan once might have imag¬ined for the “birthday place” theme. With the founding of a new company, Birthday Bars, Inc., Lee, Eric, and other Nitty Gritty staff hope to spread the tradition of Nitty Gritty birthdays beyond Madison. “We’re thinking of setting up at other Big 10 schools,” he says, “and based on who we’ve got working for us, I think we have a good ‘gene pool,’ if you will, for management at future locations.”
Lee emphasizes that Birthday Bars, Inc., is still in its formative stages. “It’s an ex¬periment. There are totally different demographics just between the West Side location and downtown. Both are great, but you have to know—who do you want to reach? We’ve got a great energy with the college kids, and people on their way to sporting events, and walk-in customers. But put that in suburban U.S.A. any¬where, and are people going to come? I believe in the concept, but you have to know where you’re setting up.” Overall, he says, “We’re concentrating on these two stores right now.”
The desire to avoid watering down the original—to buck the convention of becoming just another chain—Lee will be keeping close watch on both the branching out and the reception of the Nitty Gritty as it continues to grow. He values what the restaurant means to the community, and intends to keep that tradition alive. “I really like the concept of keeping connected. This is the other thing I really wrestle with when it comes to expanding. The idea of giving back to the community is so important; buying locally and eating locally is important. I want to make sure that we keep providing a service to the community.” Currently donating regularly to charities such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Nitty Gritty management seeks avenues to express their gratitude to the people they serve. In summary, Lee says, “I’m very, very thankful—I’m having a great time. And I’ve got the Madison community to thank for coming in and spending their birthdays with me.”
Okay, one last question (which I’m sure is burning on the mind of many a reader): just how many Gritty Burgers has this man consumed? Lee laughs aloud. “You know, I’ve never really thought about it before. When I started, I was pretty much a vegetarian.” Over time, though, the Gritty Burger broke him. Still chuckling, he admits, “I guarantee you I’ve eaten thousands. The thing just doesn’t get old for me.” But as Lee points out, “I think it’s a good compliment to the restaurant to see staff eating there. If they’re around the same food every day and still want to eat it, that’s a good sign. You’ve got to think, ‘Hey, if anybody knows whether the food is good, it’s the staff.’”
With that as credit, along with the memory and possibility of Nitty Gritty’s past, present, and future, Madison’s birthday bar of choice looks to continue its success well into the future. Perhaps more importantly, while a place full of memories, the Nitty Gritty is always awaiting the creation of more—and your birthday may be next on the list.
