Community gathers to remember beloved Milwaukee bar owner whose stickers took humble tavern to worldwide fame

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Patrons of Milwaukee's iconic Wolski's Tavern gathered Sunday afternoon not for football or drinks, but to celebrate the life of its former owner.

Mike Bondar, the beloved bar owner who transformed the humble Lower East Side dive bar into a world-famous community hub, recently passed away . Friends and family gathered inside the bar Sunday to honor his memory.

Bondar, who ran Wolski's for decades, died after struggling with dementia. His nephew Sean McCarthy, a bartender and future owner of the establishment, organized the celebration of life to honor his uncle's legacy and raise funds for dementia research.

"There's communities formed from all sorts of things. Our kids go to school together, or we go to church together. The bar is like that for our neighborhood," Mc