Photo by Lance Turner, via the Milk Bar Facebook page. Art by Suzan Elizabeth

Despite a recent post by nightlife blog Orlando Culture Shock, that the Milk Bar (Website) had inexplicably closed over the weekend, the bar is supposedly still open.

Orlando Culture Shock (OCS) wrote on Sunday that a number of people had been locked out of the popular Milk District bar when they showed up to attend an art opening for local artist Suzan Elizabeth. He cited a social media post from local concert promoter Jessica Pawli, that showed that the bar’s business license had expired on September 30 and that it was likely the cause for it being shuttered without explanation. There were no updates Milk Bar’s website or Facebook page, which hasn’t been updated since early August.

orlandos-the-milk-bar-expired-license
Image via orlandocultureshock.wordpress.com

A follow up post by OCS shared a recent Facebook conversation between Patrick Barnes, the blogger, and Serena Ashman, wife of Bret Ashman the owner of Milk Bar, that sheds a little more light on the issue.

Supposedly, Bret Ashman has been ill since last Wednesday, and the bar has been closed as a result. It will apparently be open again once Ashman has had time to rest and recuperate.

We’ve reached out to Ashman for comment, but have yet to get a response.

To read the exchange, click HERE.

 

Brendan O'Connor

Editor in Chief of Bungalower.com

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8 Comments

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  1. Thanks Tina Hinson! We were just trying to answer people who were writing in to us. Good to know!

  2. Bret, we’ve been trying to reach you for a comment. We’re big fans of the Milk Bar. The whole point of this post was to address the rumors that were surrounding your sudden closure. When are you opening up again? We’d love to update the post.

  3. It is unusual for them to be closed for such a long time without explanation. I’m sure there were a lot of people wondering what was going on. Good to know that they are still open. Our area needs the local businesses to stick around!

  4. Supposedly …do you actually research items posted….or just soread rumor….been here long time….be here much longer time…why nit visit the bar…

  5. Well The Milk Bar is definitely open and slammed with customers all time. If you live in the milk district then you should know sometimes the few lil bars on that strip is either closed or open. I work on Tuesday nights at the milk bar and its great every time I work. I also live in the area and NEVER thought any difference if one of the small bars are closed. I just move on to the next.

  6. That linked exchange was… interesting. To be fair, if I had gone by a business and noticed it was closed for days with no signage/explanation (other than that expiry), I might have also wondered if they were shutting down too… especially since they are/were open pretty much every day for years. A certain bar nearby sorta did that a few years ago – closed doors with no warning to anyone, even employees… it does happen.