The owners of a popular bar said Tuesday they would accept a $2.1 million buyout from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and drop a lawsuit seeking to stop the school from seizing their property for a new music building. The university agreed to pay Marc and Eric Fortney, the owners of Brothers Bar & Grill, within 30 days to acquire the last property it needs to construct a privately funded $43 million School of Music building. The decision to drop the lawsuit came a day before the case was scheduled to go to trial in Dane County Circuit Court, and after a monthslong public relations battle between the bar owners and top university officials. Left unresolved are how much the bar will be paid to relocate and how soon that will happen.
Office of Strategic Communication