LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville bar and music venue, Zanzabar, celebrated its 15th anniversary in June. It’s a milestone jeopardized by the pandemic. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Louisville music venue, Zanzabar, is still recovering from the pandemic

  • The Wettig brothers were forced to adapt how they operated their business 

  • They say the business is close to pre-pandemic levels. 

They filled the venue with family and friends, food and drink, of course, music. 

“You know, it’s rock n’ roll every day. It feels like 2019 to us right now, so it’s kind of a relief,” Antz Wettig, a co-owner of the business, said. 

Like almost all other event businesses, the Wettig brothers were forced to adapt how they operated their business, which is known for its pinball collection. 

“The last thing you want to do is lose your best people. So we did the best we could to let everybody have a job, and that wasn’t easy either and people are going to understand that they’re going to make a lot less than they’re used to,” Jon Wetting, Antz’s brother, and Zanzabar co-owner, said.

The brothers, who say their main priority is to make their parents proud, built a deck to allow loyal customers to dine outside in order to keep afloat. 

“Being a business owner and having 20 employees count on you, you know, that’s the thing. We have so many employees and everyone had to cut down on shifts and all that kind of stuff,” Jon Wetting said.  

While the balcony allowed people to enjoy the venue, the brothers say their customers showed a lot of support. 

“We would sell them anything off the walls. We didn’t have to ask, they just knew. Everybody stepped up. We would get anonymous donations. You know we’d get checks in the mail from anonymous donors and we are not the type of guys that are going to ask for money. People just supported us, propped us up,” the brothers said. 

They say the business is almost at pre-pandemic levels. 

Which is one reason why they are celebrating 15 years.

“We are like this far away from catching up. We can see the end of the road. It’s taken a long time to get back to where we were. It still stings, you know, it still stings,” added the brothers. 

The Wettig brothers are working on the construction of the city’s first “Laundro-cade”—a laundromat with an arcade and bar.

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