Robert C. “R.C.” Schmidt Jr., the founder and chairman of Milwaukee-based 4th Street Management and whose portfolio of local establishments included Water Street Brewery, R.C.’s, Louise’s Trattoria, the Historic Turner Restaurant, Brew City BBQ, Trinity Irish Pub, The Harp Irish Pub and others, died on Tuesday at the age of 76, his family announced today.
His hospitality career began in 1974 when, at age 24, he opened R.C.’s on Milwaukee’s East Side. That bar remained in business for 44 years.
During the early 1980s, Schmidt operated several Chuck E. Cheese franchises.
In 1987, he opened Water Street Brewery, Milwaukee’s first brewpub, combining beer brewed on site with a full-service restaurant. Water Street Brewery, now known as The Brewer, helped establish downtown Milwaukee as a dining and entertainment destination.
Water Street Brewery later expanded with locations in Delafield, Grafton and Oak Creek. The downtown location was renovated and rebranded as The Brewery in 2022.
Across more than five decades, Schmidt created, acquired or operated a wide-ranging collection of Milwaukee-area businesses. His portfolio included: R.C.’s, Water Street Brewery, The Brewery, Louise’s Trattoria, Andrew’s Bar & Restaurant, the Historic Turner Restaurant, River House, Rudy’s Mexican Restaurant, Brew City BBQ, Trinity Three Irish Pubs, The Harp Irish Pub, Oakland Trattoria, SoLo Pizza, The Black Rose Irish Pub, Monster Pizza MKE, and Vagabond, along with food and beverage operations at the Wisconsin State Fair and Summerfest.
“R.C. understood that a restaurant or pub could become part of a city’s identity,” said Matt Schmidt, R.C.’s son and CEO and COO of 4th Street Management. “He believed in Milwaukee, he believed in taking care of people, and he was never above doing any job himself. The greatest measure of his success was not the number of businesses he opened, but the employees, guests and families whose lives became connected through them.”
Credit: Photo providedToday, the Schmidt family and its leadership team continue to operate the business that R.C. began. The group operates Trinity Three Irish Pubs, The Harp Irish Pub, The Brewery and Water Street Brewery locations in Delafield, Grafton and Oak Creek.
The group recently closed Vagabond and put it and the Trinity Three Irish Pubs buildings up for sale. The move comes as the North Water Street entertainment district has been plagued with late night violent crime incidents in recent years and several other establishments there have closed.
