There is nothing better than a burger at Shenanigans on 60th Street on a Saturday afternoon. My family and I stopped in by Rock and my MGD was popped and waiting and my half pounder with pepper cheese and onions was in the first stage of becoming my lunch. I am fortunate enough to remember that building as The 5th Amendment. Monday nights were $1.75 pitchers of Lowenbrau and 50 cent tacos back in the early to mid-80s and what is now a drive through liquor store was then part of the bathrooms and a raised pool table room. And oh yea, Rock was there working back then too. Much has changed but much has stayed the same in society, in Kenosha, WI, in life in general but a burger at Shenanigans (The Fifth) is one of the few constants we can all count on.
Glenn “Rock” Evenson has been an institution at all of the Shenanigans locations. Jerry Kurth was, is and always will be “the man” associated with the Shenanigans Kenosha brand and I personally have had some of the best times of my life hanging out in multiple Shenanigans locations throughout the years. Playing softball for The Fifth, The Big Green Nickel and Shenanigans Greys was a fantastic run and cemented friendships I would carry to this day. Shenanigans on 60th was a great home base much as the 5th Amendment was a party central bar dating back into the early 80s for me. And the burger special on Saturdays has always been a cornerstone of the organization. And Rock is there, manning the grill, making perfect half-pounders and holding court with the legions of regulars that frequent the place.
On any given Saturday you will see no less than a half dozen people you know in there. It is almost impossible to go in on a Saturday and not see one of the Lange brothers in there. Mike, Doug, Tom, wives, kids, parents..though the years that family has been as loyal to a Saturday burger as any Kenoshans in history. You are also likely to run across The Lone Wolf himself, Mike Selovich, getting a Saturday burger fix. Many semi-regulars populate the place on a Saturday where the food is every bit as good as the company you can keep while there. The games are always on the TV, the pool table is always busy, they got a sweet golf game in there I’ve never tried but I’m fixin to and there is always something happening to keep the place alive. It will forever be my favorite place to grab a burger and a beer.
So stop in and see Rock on a Burger Special Saturday sometime soon. You have likely been there before or know someone who has spent a Saturday or two in there getting lunch. Well it is time to head back in and enjoy the classic nature of that Kenosha landmark. It is a wonderful cross between yesterday and today. Gone are the days of the AMC/Chrysler workers blowing the place up at lunch time and what remains is an iconic saloon and eatery with a great burger cooked to perfection by the guy I think they built the building around. Cheers to Jerry and Rock and Czar…Shenanigans has always been a great place to socialize, to play ball for and to get a burger…and in a city that is loaded with bars, Shenanigans will always be a unique bit of Kenosha history.
