Remembering Tom Ziegler, AKA ‘Tiger’ of Tiger’s Tap Room

We’ve lost an iconic figure in Tucson’s bar scene.

Tom Ziegler, most commonly referred to as Tiger, has passed away. He began bartending at Hotel Congress in 1959. When he turned 80 years old, the historic hotel renamed its bar Tiger’s Tap Room in his honor.

The Ziegler family released the following statement about Tiger, who had been featured in several publications like The New York Times over the years.

“It is with a broken heart that we share the news of the passing of our much-loved uncle Tom Ziegler, known to many of his friends and Hotel Congress family as Tiger.

“We will dearly miss him and his wit, wisdom, banter, and tales about the love of his life — the Hotel Congress and his namesake, Tiger’s Tap Room.

“The Hotel Congress was Tiger’s life! We love how he always acknowledged his Hotel Congress family, and his many customers as the reason for going to work every day and loving his job as much as he did. We will forever be grateful for the love shown to him and to our family by his Hotel Congress family. A very special thank you to Shana, Richard, Rebecca, and Todd for your continued love and support of Tiger and our family after his stroke.

“Tiger has become a legend — in our family and the City of Tucson. Our wish is that Tiger will always be remembered as a man who loved deeply and cared for his family, his Hotel Congress family, and his much-loved customers at Tiger’s Tap Room.”

The family is asking folks to save the date for his celebration on Saturday, January 11.

Stay tuned for more details.

Learn more about Tiger’s life by reading Angela Orlando’s 2019 article “Pouring at Hotel Congress Since the ’50s.”