Friday's sign finds a home

June 6 -- Friday's Front Row Grill will have a sign on the lighted Miller Park marquee just south of I-94, according to Ald. Michael Murphy.

Friday's wanted its own lighted sign east of the marquee, but Story Hill residents objected to the idea. The restaurant then proposed placing a sign on the stadium itself, but a spot on the marquee has now opened up, Murphy said.

City board to consider Friday's sign

April 19 -- Friday's Front Row will try again this week to win city approval for a sign for its Miller Park restaurant.

This time, however, Friday's is proposing to attach the sign to Miller Park itself. In the remarkably unclear words of the request, Friday's wants "to construct a sign on the premises that is not attatched to a flat opaque wall surface (on top of glass)."

The matter will be considered by the Board of Zoning Appeals Thursday in room 301-B of City Hall. The sign is the 71st item on the agenda, and the board likely will not get to it until late in the day. It is scheduled, with a number of other items, for a 3:15 p.m. public hearing.

Story Hill residents objected to an earlier Friday's proposal to build a $84,000, 18-foot by 20-foot illuminated sign adjacent to I-94. The sign, including its supporting poles, would have been 75 feet tall.

Friday's whiffs with sign pitch

Jan. 29 -- Friday’s Front Row Grill struck out with Story Hillers when restaurant representatives gave their pitch for installing a large illuminated sign over I-94 near the Story Hill neighborhood.

The discussion at the SHNA quarterly meeting began with Ald. Michael Murphy saying that “I don’t believe they (signs) add a great deal of value to the city.”

Friday’s representatives said they needed the $84,000, 18-foot by 20-foot sign because many people do do not know where the restaurant is located. The proposed sign, however, did not say the restaurant was in Miller Park, or give any directional information.

The sign, including its supporting poles, would be 75 feet tall.

Business at the restaurant has fallen off dramatically since the Brewers descent into the lower levels of the major leagues, the restaurant reps said.

The number of Friday's visitors climbed from 3.7 million in 2001 to 4.1 in 2002 before dropping to 3.6 million last year and a projected 3.3 million this year, according to restaurant officials.

Friday’s general manager, James Duckworth, of Brookfield, said Friday’s is a neighborhood restaurant, and wanted to appeal to Story Hill residents.

Friday’s, however, has not tried to appeal specifically to residents since it opened.

The sign request will be forwarded to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

The sign in question

Friday's seeks OK for big sign

Dec. 14 -- Friday's restaurant at Miller Park is seeking city permission to erect a 75-foot tall lighted neon sign on stadium property adjacent to I-94.

"I'm not inclined to support it, but I would afford them an opportunity to make a presentation to the neighborhood," Ald. Michael Murphy said.

The sign would require a special use permit from the city.

Story Hill Neighborhood Association President Sandra Rusch Walton said the Association's Civic Committee reviewed Friday's proposal and has "serious reservations" about it.

Friday's will be invited to explain its proposal to neighborhood residents at the next SHNA quarterly meeting, which will be held in late January or early February, she said.

"This will be an excellent opportunity for neighbors to get more information on the proposed illuminated sign, ask questions, and voice their opinions," Rusch Walton said.

The lighted part of the sign -- the "neon cabinet" in the language of the proposal submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals -- would be 18 feet high and 20 feet, 2 inches wide, according to documents submitted to BOZA. The cabinet would be held high by two 2-inch diameter pipes.

"It has been realized since this restaurant opened, that it needs a sign to be seen from a public highway as well as to let people know it is open all year long," Mark Poblocki, vice president of Poblocki & Sons sign company, wrote in the BOZA Application.

"If there ever was a business that should be granted a 'Special Use' because of its location, this is it," he wrote. "This restaurant is located inside Miller Park far away from any street exposure."

The proposed sign would promote public health, safety and welfare "by safely directing the public to this establishment," he wrote.

Murphy, though, said he generally does not support putting additional commercial signs along the freeway because they do not add value to the area.

He also said that Friday's did not do enough to advertise its location by other means before asking for the sign.