Netflix Dahmer show results in unwanted attention at Milwaukee bar
'I knew this was a place Jeffrey had found a few of his victims,' Charese Gardner, owner of Wall Street Stock Bar, said
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Netflix's series profiling Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is drawing unwanted attention by true crime tourists at a local bar.
"I knew this was a place Jeffrey had found a few of his victims," Charese Gardner, owner of Wall Street Stock Bar, told FOX6 News Milwaukee.
Decades ago, the bar was Club 219, infamous for being frequented by Dahmer himself as he looked for victims.
Some people have even walked into the bar asking for a "Dahmer drink," which is not something the establishment offers.
Jeffrey Dahmer used to frequent Club 219 decades ago. The establishment is now the Wall Street Stock Bar. (Composite by FOX6 News Milwaukee)
"I have face marks on my mirrors outside because people are like, trying to look inside," Gardner said. "I don’t really understand the obsession with walking on a place he walked at."
Gardner keeps Dahmer's name out of her bar. She instead highlights iconic people of the stock market.
Wall Street Stock Bar owner Charese Gardner.
"I redid every single thing," Gardner said. "It doesn’t even look like the place anymore. It was a bar before me."
Gardner has called the unwanted attention overwhelming. She told FOX6 bogus reviews have popped up online.
"Then they have ‘Jeffrey Dahmer approved,'" Gardner said. "'Great place to meet new friends.' This person never visited here. One-star review. Picture of Jeffrey Dahmer here."
"It’s senseless," Gardner continued. "Obviously, those people don’t care about the family members either. To me, it’s kind of like, who’s side are you on? Are you really on the killer’s side? Because you’re like promoting for the killer, or is it just like sick jokes?"
Gardner has a cook whose friend was one of Dahmer's victims. She said another person she works with was solicited by Dahmer himself.
"This is my establishment," said Gardner. "This is my career. It’s just kind of traumatizing to see how people would praise a serial killer."
Gardner has no plans to let the killer be what her bar is known for. She is likely going to make the "219" on the bar window less prominent and is working to get the fake Google reviews taken down.
Milwaukee bar owner likely to make address less prominent after getting unwanted attention by true crime fans. (FOX6 News Milwaukee)
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The bar owner said she hasn’t seen the Netflix show and doesn’t plan to.