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September 7, 2026
ASHWAUBENON – Burkel’s has a new name: Sideline Sports & Social.
The bar and grill, located at 1007 Tony Canadeo Run in Ashwaubenon, has reopened with a refreshed look and new name after General Manager Emily Burkel said plans to sell the business were called off earlier this year.
“It’s been quite the journey, but we are glad to be back open and serving customers again,” Emily said. “We haven’t advertised much other than on Facebook about being open. We are working on getting the staff trained and a little more practice before we start booking more entertainment, etc. We’re fully operational, but we’ll have a limited menu for a bit until we can hire more kitchen staff.”
Emily said the best part about the establishment’s reopening – which The Business News first reported on in its Aug. 10, 2026 issue – is seeing all the familiar faces that frequented the establishment before it closed at the end of January.
“It makes my day,” she said. “The first night we were back open, [Aug. 20], the entire bar was full, and it was all regular customers. It was nice to see and talk to everyone again who we haven’t seen for months.”
With Owner Kevin Burkel having spent 40 years in the bar business, Emily said he has built strong relationships with customers over the years.
Those relationships, she said, remained evident during the bar and grill’s closure and continued after its August reopening.
“Our loyal customers have been really supportive,” she said. “We had regulars who said to us, ‘Can we come in and help you wash dishes to get ready for your opening? Can we come in and help you move equipment?’ With so many people offering to come and help with what they could, that was nice.”
More on the name change
Emily said the new name pays homage to her dad Kevin’s past as the former owner of Sideline Sports Bar & Grill on the west side of Lambeau Field.
She said they wanted to bring a little bit of nostalgia into this next chapter, so they decided to incorporate parts of the old name into the rebrand.
“Hopefully, the new name will bring back some memories of people in the community who used to hang out on that side of the stadium or who grew up on that side of the stadium,” she said. “My dad owned Sideline Sports Bar & Grill from 2001-15. In 2016, the building was demolished. For reference, Hinterland is there now – it’s near the corner of Lombardi [Avenue] and Ridge [Road].”
‘Reopening was the easy part’
With the amount of work required to prepare for the relaunch, Emily said reopening Aug. 20 was the easy part.
For her dad, she said, the real challenge came during the seven weeks leading up to it.
“My dad rented a scissor lift and was cleaning the ceiling and painting the outside of the building himself,” she said. “He was there for about 17 hours a day for seven weeks straight. He also took all the kitchen equipment out – we installed new kitchen flooring and added a bunch of brand-new kitchen equipment. [He also] professionally pressure washed the outside.”
Emily said the biggest challenge for her was reopening with a largely new staff.
“I only have two staff from before,” she said. “Having a whole new staff and really being the only person to be able to train everyone has been the hardest part for me.”
For more information on Sideline Sports & Social, check out its Facebook page.
