Marsh Shapiro of the Nitty Gritty was kind enough to let me interview him. He and his business can found www.nittygrittybirthdayplace.com

What do you do for a living?

I’m the owner and operator of a restaurant and bar.

How would you describe what you do?

I’m the owner and operator of a restaurant and bar which is a very high-volume operation here in Madison, Wisconsin. We’re located just adjacent to the University of Wisconsin campus. We are predominantly, what you would call, a pub-type operation, serving bar food and, of course, alcohol. There are literally thousands of students living directly across the street, and we are a very popular place here in the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison.

What does your work entail?

I was an absentee owner for a good share of the time, to the extent that there were managers operating the place when I was doing work and away from here. And then in 1985, I left the television business and have been full-time on the premises doing all of the marketing and promotion and overseeing the operations for the last 22 years.

we’re actually known as Madison’s official birthday place…We have 50 to 60 birthday parties here every day, 7 days a week…Our record is 103 birthdays in one day. Our youngest is one-day old. Our oldest is a lady that’s 108…Virtually everyone in Madison knows the Nitty Gritty as a place to celebrate your birthday. We make kind of a big deal out of it…They are very special people to us.

We have one hundred employees to manage during the height of the school year when there are events at the Kohl Center and the University of Wisconsin is in session.  We have a very high-volume, fast-paced operation, with a capacity of a little over 400. We’re able to serve food to probably 275 seated at one time. 

How did you get started?

The business over the course of the 39 years since I’ve been the owner has evolved a great deal. I’ve had, basically, two overlapping careers. I’m a professional broadcaster by trade. I have a degree in radio and television and I was in television here in Madison, Wisconsin for 25 years, from 1961 to 1985. In the early 60’s I did kids’ shows, and then transitioned into becoming sports director from 1975 to 1985. I was the broadcaster for all the Wisconsin football and basketball games on television. And in 1968 I purchased what is now the Nitty Gritty Restaurant and Bar that we have talked about.

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