Tony DePalma, the founder of Y-NOT II and a fixture of Milwaukee’s East Side for more than five decades, died May 20 surrounded by family. He was 86.
The bar announced his death May 22 in a post on its Facebook page.
“He was a friend, a familiar face, a safe place, and a constant presence in so many lives,” the post read.
DePalma opened the original Y-Not bar in 1970 at the corner of North Newhall Street and East Belleview Place. When that location closed in 1983, he had already launched the Y-Not II at 706 E. Lyon St. in 1971.
The name was a signature bit of DePalma wit: Y-Not is Tony spelled backward.
The bar became known for cheap beer served in jumbo stein glasses, free popcorn, miniature liquor bottles hanging from the ceiling and a crowd that ranged from third-shifters arriving at dawn to regulars who’d been coming since the 1970s.
DePalma is survived by his children, Monica and Nick DePalma, who are both involved in running the bar. Monica DePalma also owns Monica’s on Astor and Dark Horse Tavern in Walker’s Point.
The bar’s staff said Monica and Nick DePalma are not at the bar as they grieve their father’s death.
A celebration of life will be held soon, the post said, with details to come.
“If you knew Tony well, you’d know that he hated funerals,” Y-NOT II said in its post. “He believed in remembering friends and family as they were in life – through laughter, stories and shared memories.”
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tony DePalma, founder of Milwaukee’s Y-Not II, dies at 86
Reporting by Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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