A First Anniversary Chat With Kruz’s Jerry Breiling
Interview by Mike Fitzpatrick
Milwaukee -  November 25 marked the first anniversary of the opening of Kruz for business and life partners Jerry Breiling and Serge Bellitelli. “Basically a man’s bar,” according to longtime bartender, and manager Breiling, Kruz is a “fun, clean, comfortable place for everyone to come.,”   He dispels the notion that “we’re not necessarily a Leather-Levi bar.” “We’re a ‘people bar’ with all types and walks of life coming in here,” Breiling told Quest.
  Breiling has a long history of involvement with the city’s gay bars. “I started working at the Wreck Room  when I was 18 or 19, probably on of the youngest bartenders they ever had,” Breiling said. Breiling has also worked at the Harbor Room, and M & Ms.
  And “probably one of the smallest they ever had” he quipped. The others were “all big and beefy boys,” he said. “They gave me a chance to prove myself to them and I ended up being the manager there for five or six years.”
  Breiling loves running Kruz. “I love the business, which makes a big difference for me,” Breiling said.
  Breiling has seen a lot of changes in the Milwaukee gay bar scene over the years. “From my first being out, it’s a lot different now,” he said. “Partially, I think its because of the Internet. The old-fashioned way was come to the bar and meet somebody. Now you can do that on the Internet.”
  “The younger generation has a different agenda,” Breiling said. “It’s less cruisy. People come (to Kruz) mostly to socialize. We’ve got a lot of things going on - dart leagues, baseball teams, a couple of bowling teams.”
  Decor has changed as well. “Back in the (old days), everything was always dark. There were never any windows in any bars. Now you can actually see the person you’re talking to versus the Braille technique,” Breiling joked. “Back in the day, you went out to cruise, that’s why we call it Kruz!”
  Other factors have impacted the bar scene as well, Breiling feels. “The changes in the drunk driving laws: drunk driving is now a big issue,” he said. “Before we’d say (to someone who had a few too many) ‘Get in your car and get home!’ Not any more.”
  The mainstreaming of the LGBT community has also impacted the gay bar scene. “You don’t necessarily have to go to a gay bar to have a good time any more,” Breiling said. “Everything is gay-friendly now - pretty much.”
  Recent changes in ownership have also impacted the Milwaukee gay bar scene, Breiling feels. “Look at the whole Third Ward: with M & M’s and Wreck Room gone - that was the start of the changing over,” he said. “People expect more from the bars now - with (drink) specials and special events.”
  Breiling’s “silent partner” is also his life partner for eight years. When he’s not doing his day job as a software developer, Serge Bellitelli works behind the scenes. “Far behind,” Bellitelli joked. “I do the bookkeeping and the accounting.”
  On Kruz’s first anniversary, Breiling is thankful for those have supported him “throughout his career” in the bar business. “Everybody seems to know who I am, though I wish I could say I could remember everyone (I’ve met) by name - It’s been a sea of people,” he said. “I love my job: I get paid for entertaining!”