We’re an employee-, queer-, and veteran-owned cocktail and karaoke bar located in downtown Beloit, Wisconsin.

We welcome individuals from all walks of life, and our patrons have lovingly called us the unofficial gay bar of Beloit! Our mission is to make a safe, welcoming space you want to call your own.

Our drink philosophy

We drink to celebrate. We drink to connect with friends, old and new. We drink to discover. With each menu, we strive to share unique things, humorous metaphors, and comforting concepts. Giving you, your friends, and every one a reason to visit again, and again, and again…

Fresh-squeezed citrus, house made syrups, and local produce (when possible) all make an appearance in our cocktails.

When we make a cocktail we pay attention to the balance. All the elements should be present, but not over-powering. It’s a sort of dance. Anyone can do it at home, but like a puppet show, it’s always entertaining when someone else does it.

Our space philosophy

We have three main hangout spaces that are all dog-friendly:

  • The front room is a cozy, living-room-style bar.

  • The back room is where things get loud: karaoke, live music, drag bingo, private events and more.

  • Out on the patio, you'll find comfy seats, lawn games, and string lights.

Looking for things to do in Beloit this weekend? Check our events calendar — we host everything from open mics to drag shows to art nights, and we also rent out the space for weddings, birthdays, and private parties of every size. Grab a couch, try this month's menu, and see why regulars call it their second home.

We host lots of events and you can rent out part or all of the bar for any kind of public or private event you would like! We’ve hosted weddings, after parties, engagement parties, birthday parties, shows, music videos, and a variety of photoshoots. We love helping local non-profits and our goal is to be as community centric as possible.

Book our space

Or learn some more fun facts…

  • We think she’s the best bar dog around. Here are some facts about her!

    Birthday: 11/29/2020

    Breed: Pembroke corgi

    Origin of name: Levi waited nearly a month for this lovely creature to show its personality. With many customers offering ideas, slowly it became apparent that this cutie was in everyone’s hearts and she was a little Lady.

    Favorite customer: Woodchuck, it was the first person she saw as a puppy at 5BAR

    Favorite snack: bacon bits (please don’t feed her though!)

    Routine: Morning time is full of yawns, stretchies, back to bed while Levi gets ready, light meal, light walk, yawns, back to bed while Levi takes care of computer work over coffee. In the mid afternoon Lady might get a walk up to the Castle to catch up on more work for Levi, where she gets a nice nap on the big couch. Early evening its time for a big dinner, big walkie towards Buchel and a Peck then back. If its light outside she will likely give a few welcome ‘borks’ to customers with a light tail wag. Then its smooth sailing resting near a couch and begging for ice cubes from the bartenders until she falls asleep.

    Favorite other dog: TBD

  • It was an auto-text gone wrong. Levi texted an old drinking pal “When are we going to buy a divebar?” and the ‘dive-bar’ populated to five-bar. They spent the rest of that day floating the Sugar River and talking about a dive-bar that had great cocktails.

    The more they talked, the more the number 5 showed up. $5 would be a fine price for a nice rail spirit drink. There’s 5 senses: hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling. There are also 5 perceptions of flavor: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami. Then the big idea came, for rotating a menu each month with 5 different drinks around a centralized themed. Boom, 5BAR was on its way to becoming a real thing.

    That was summer 2017, the concept kept evolving till the soft opening in October 2020. The concept went through a few good ideas and many bad ideas. Ultimately landing on 5BAR being a comfy bar with a menu to touch all 5 senses, rotating cocktail menu that has 1 theme and 5 drinks.

  • The bar is supposed to feel familiar and cozy, like a place you’ve already been to. We also call the vibes ‘divebar-chic,’ which implies a more fancy and feminine ambiance.

Illustration of a hand holding chopsticks, with a citrus slice and a cocktail glass hanging from strings, along with a small bottle and a spoon hanging from strings.

ABOVE: Lady, 5BAR’s official mascot and bar dog, in her first photo at 5BAR

It was a bitterly cold February day in 2021 when she walked into the bar. Little snow flakes slowly melted from her nose. She didn’t know it then, but that bar would become her second home. And the people she would meet would turn into lifelong friends.