10/09/2026
Le***an bars have existed in Milwaukee since the 1950s, when Nite Beat (Walker's Point) and the Wildwood (Bronzeville) welcomed butch and femme alike to safe, affiming, women-only spaces. These could be rowdy and chaotic spaces -- Nite Beat famously boarded up its bay windows because their brawling customers kept throwing barstools through them -- and the patrons could be especially unfriendly to newcomers.
One thing was certain: every single one of these le***an bars was owned by straight men motivated by money, not supporting their customers or the community. Not ONE bar was owned by an out le***an, nor did le***ans hired as staff or management have any say in how the business was run.
EVERYTHING changed in March 1975.
Sharon Dixon and JoAnn Kilsdonk operated the Sugar Shack -- the first bar "by women, for women" -- at 135 E. National Avenue. Sharon had been working in Milwaukee bars for years: as a bouncer, as a bartender, as a manager. She'd seen and learned much about nightlife. And she'd had enough with people profiting from her community. She talked her partner JoAnn into opening a place they could call their own.
"If you wanted to make money back then, you opened a men's bar," said Sharon. "Men had more disposable income. Men had more personal freedom. Men could put their family duties aside for the night and go out to the boy bars. Women couldn't do any of that in 1975. So people thought we were crazy to open a bar for women. But we were convinced it was the right thing to do."
"We expected a slow start, but it was a madhouse from the first weekend. We'd have women showing up by the hundreds! Women would come from all over the region: Madison, Wausau, the UP, Iowa, Indiana. We had a regular bunch who came up from Chicago. They were just so happy to have a space of their own, and owners who knew what they wanted. They were giving their dollars to members of their own community for the first time."
"Nowadays it doesn't seem like a big deal. But back then, it was a really big deal, not to have to give money to people who hated us. "
The Sugar Shack was a runaway success. For the next four years, JoAnn and Sharon ran the bar while also managing a household, family, and relationship. After the couple separated, Sharon stepped away from the business. JoAnn sold the Sugar Shack in 1981.
JoAnn never owned another women's bar after the Sugar Shack. She passed away in 2019 at age 75. Sharon would own and operate bars at 200 E. Washington for nearly 30 years. She also had a hand in running Mike & Anna's, Mom's Kitchen, the Lost & Found, Shorty's Party Room (later Kathy's Nut Hut) and Etcetera. In 1979, she almost opened a women's sports bar, Breakaway, in what later became Harbor Room.
According to the Le***an Bar Project, there are about 36 surviving le***an bars across America. And these numbers are increasing again -- after a long, steep, treacherous decline since the 1980s.
Sharon and JoAnn wanted to see change in their world. So they made the change happen -- and in turn, they changed Wisconsin LGBTQ history forever. Today, on International Le***an Day, we give thanks to Sharon and JoAnn. For everything! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
