Chuck Cicirello dies at 67

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Written by Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
Feb 10, 2011

Pioneering gay bar owner Charles “Chuck” Cicirello, 67, died Feb. 1. Also known as Chuck Balistreri, he is survived by wife Mary, sons Charles and Thomas, grandchildren Tommy and Teresa, and sister Marie Bozora.

According to the Milwaukee LGBT History Project, Cicirello was “perhaps the most prolific owner/manager of gay bars in Milwaukee’s history.” He opened his first bar, the Neptune Club, in the late 1960s, followed by The Factory in 1972. The latter was the city’s largest and most popular gay nightspot for many years.

In the early 1980s, Cicirello served as president of the Business Association of Milwaukee, a coalition of local gay bar owners. He opened the 27th Street Danceteria in the late 1980s.

From the late 1990s until it closed in autumn 2005, he managed Club 219.

Visitation for Cicirello was held Feb. 5. He was interned at Highland Memorial Park.