Beyond Water Street: Schmidt restaurant empire heads south to Oak Creek

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Matt Schmidt at the downtown Milwaukee Water Street Brewery.

Schmidt owns four bars and restaurants on or near Water Street in downtown Milwaukee, including Water Street Brewery. He has four other establishments in Milwaukee and three suburban restaurants, including Water Street Brewery locations in Grafton and Delafield. Water Street Brewery also has a major presence at Summerfest and the Wisconsin State Fair.

Schmidt still owns the first establishment he bought in Milwaukee, RC's Bar at 1530 E. North Ave., which he took on in 1974. The success of RC's was the beginning of an entrepreneurial journey that has led Schmidt to expand his business over and over again.

Matt Schmidt speaks with Vagabonds executive chef, Ramses Alvarez.

He works every day, Matt said. No doubt he is going to be working for a while. Part of it is because he loves it. But Matt, 35, is increasingly becoming the public face of the business.

I think I have that same passion, too, Matt said. I love doing this. My favorite part is being in the places, especially when its busy, and seeing us take great care of people.

The Schmidts are always looking for growth opportunities. They recently completed a major restaurant makeover project and are building another new restaurant.

Rudys Mexican Restaurant, which R.C. Schmidt bought in 2000 and moved from the citys Walkers Point neighborhood to 1122 N. Edison St. near Water Street, was recently renovated and renamed Vagabond. It re-opened in mid-December. The highlight of the renovation was the use of a pair of Airstream trailers that were gutted and built into the two bars of the restaurant.

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Beyond Water Street: Schmidt restaurant empire heads south to Oak Creek