MILWAUKEE — It's not every day I get to interview members of an iconic band that played all through my high school and college years.
But when I heard Kiss band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were in town, I thought why not try? We talked more about the restaurant business than rock 'n' roll.
Their new restaurant "Rock & Brews" is part of $100 million renovation project at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, which will also add 1,800 new slot machine.
"Rock & Brews is really an institution all over the country now," said Stanley. "What we do is we serve up great food in a great musical atmosphere and it's served by local people, by your friends."
The brews will include 50 plus beers from around the world, as well as local and craft beers from Milwaukee.
Benson: Do you feel the pressure, Gene or Paul? This is Brew City. We named our baseball team the Milwaukee Brewers.
Simmons: We get it, we get it.
Stanley: The beer that made Milwaukee famous.
Perhaps, just as famous as Kiss. Stanley sees similarities with the successful Kiss vision and brand and the new restaurants.
"If you pay for an expensive ticket and you sit in your seat and go, where'd the money go? Well, in Kisses case you come in and well, it's in the pyrotechnics. It's in the hydraulic lifts. It's in all those things," said Stanley. "When you go to Rock & Brews, we've managed to keep the prices really neighborhood friendly."
In fact, after the ground breaking, Kiss plays at American Family Amphitheater Wednesday night at the Summerfest grounds. It is a familiar venue for the legendary band.
"We've been coming since the mid to early 70's," said Simmons.
"As a matter of fact, we can't wait to see the renovations that have been done to the venue, " said Stanley. "I mean, we go back so far. We go back to a time when people went, 'Kiss who?' We're always thrilled to be here. "
The renovation project at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino with the new restaurant is scheduled to be completed by spring of 2023.
