Ed Grunewald
Founder of Club 5
Dies of Cancer

Gay activist and Club 5 founder Ed Grunewald died Monday, April 21st, after fighting pancreatic cancer, the club's web site stated. He was 58.

Grunewald opened Club 5 in 1998 on Madison's southwest side, off Fish Hatchery Road at Five Applegate Court (hence the name Club 5), essentially to fill the void following the fire that destroyed Hotel Washington in 1996. Hotel Washington held eight businesses, including two gay nightclubs. Grunewald owned Manoeuvres, a small gay club on South Blair Street in the old Wilson Hotel, and tried to open a huge 600-person capacity gay club on East Washington Avenue, but the plan didn't get city approval.

"Ed was a longtime, active supporter of the community at Club 5 and Manoeuvres," said a statement posted on the Club 5 web site ( http://www.club-5.com ). "Ed's wish, for Club 5 to continue to operate and serve the community, will be respected." The nightclub plans to remain open. Nikki Baumblatt, development director at OutReach, Madison's gay and lesbian service center on Williamson Street, said Grunewald had a symbiotic relationship with the gay community. "He's been very generous to the community, and he's also made his living from the community," she said. Grunewald also owned one of the first gay pride stores in Madison, We Are Family, on the city's east side.

Grunewald's family asks that any memorials be made by donation to the Madison AIDS Network in his honor, the web site said. A memorial service is in the works tentatively for May 17. Baumblatt said Club 5 staff told her they are planning a "celebration of Ed's life" at the club, with details still to come.

-- Bill Novak, The Captial Times — 4/22/2008