Inclusion rule

Tyler's standard, in his words: a business is worth listing "if it's truly in the spirit of Milwaukee."

Operational form, ruled by Tyler 2026-11-01:

1. The place is locally owned today. Founded in Milwaukee is not enough on its own; a Milwaukee-founded business that franchised nationally is out.
2. The place would make less sense anywhere else. It has a story, a tradition or a role in its neighborhood that is specific to Milwaukee.
3. The page can state that reason in one line with at least two sources (state business records, the business's own website, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, OnMilwaukee, Milwaukee Magazine, Shepherd Express, Urban Milwaukee, Milwaukee Record, neighborhood association pages).
4. If an agent cannot write that line with sources, the place does not get a page.
5. Borderline cases (places with new or out-of-town owners, places that are famous but not local, local groups with several locations) go to Tyler's open items board as needs-you rows. He rules on the edge, not the middle.

Examples the rule admits: a Friday fish fry a tavern has done since the 1950s, a frozen custard stand, a supper club, a corner bakery, a Polish or Serbian or Mexican or Hmong restaurant with a family history, a bowling alley with the old lanes, a neighborhood hardware store, a Milwaukee County park with a story.

Examples it rejects: a national chain restaurant, a Milwaukee-founded chain that franchised nationally, a franchise gym, a listing with nothing to say beyond hours and an address.

Supper clubs, taverns and bowling alleys are in the canon and are not family places. The family mode handles that; the canon does not shrink to fit it.