A new neighborhood bar (owned by a longtime local bartender) is opening on Madison's northside

This Saturday, Aug. 3, former Vintage Spirits & Grill bartender Simon Dettinger will open his own bar, Northside Lounge , at 1022 N. Sherman Ave. The bar’s menu includes craft cocktails and mocktails as well as eight rotating taps.

While the bar’s interior design was inspired by an art deco aesthetic, Dettinger imagines the space as a casual, comfortable neighborhood bar.

“This is the fanciest dive bar you’re ever going to come to,” says Emily Dettinger, Simon’s wife. “It’s a place where you can come after you walk your dog in your sweats, or a place you come when you’re out with your pals or a partner for date night.”

Emily Dettinger had a hand in the decor — the couple found many of the items decorating the walls at thrift or antique stores — and her influence is also apparent in the bar’s accessible entrances and bathrooms. As a physical therapist, building accessibility into the space was a priority.

“We want it to be a neighborhood kind of a place,” says Simon Dettinger.

And the neighborhood has been behind him since the start. When Dettinger’s initial application for the space’s liquor license was reviewed last September, it was accompanied by seven letters voicing support for Northside Lounge and its owner.

“What a tremendous plus for the North Side,” wrote Steve Schmitt , owner of the Madison Mallards, next to his typed comments.

Other community members and business owners chimed in, including Brittany Kraemer, co-owner of Vintage Spirits & Grill (where Dettinger worked as a bartender for more than two decades). The owner of Café La Bellitalia, Northside Lounge’s neighbor, also weighed in with support.

“They know he's a good person who is gonna do a good job,” says Emily Dettinger.

The 1,000-square-foot bar can seat around 50 patrons, with a patio creating space for an additional 30 to 40. (The patio is dog-friendly, and the menu even includes a ‘pup-tini.’)

Northside Lounge’s regular hours will be 3 p.m. until midnight, every day except Tuesday. On Aug. 8, the new bar will host the first Oktoberfest tapping of the year from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

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