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In Dining

By Maureen Post OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Maureen Post

Published April 14, 2009 at 11:32 a.m.

Tags: st. francis brewery, rick schmidt, rick michalski, st. francis, brew pub

In the last six months, we've been bombarded with boutiques, bars and restaurants forced to close their doors. It's a pleasure to say, we have an opening.

St. Francis Brewery, 3825 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., tapped the first kegs and opened the doors for a grand opening last Monday. The only pub on the South Side to brew and serve beer made in-house, St. Francis Brewery intends to embrace the neighborhood and celebrate its uniqueness.

"We used Lake Michigan, the neighboring seminary and the village of St. Francis as inspiration for the pub. We want people to see us as a gathering place," Rick Schmidt, project consultant, says.

St. Francis Brewery boasts a brand new 7,200-sq. ft. building housing a brewery, bar area, dining room and banquet facilities. Everything from individual beers to sandwiches and salads on the dining room menu is tagged with a local name to pay homage to St. Francis.

Current tap selections on its rotating list of home brews and a root beer include South Shore Stout, Mariner Nut Brown Ale and Archbishop Amber.

"Our brewmaster plans to rotate six or seven beers with the season. As we better understand our crowd, we'll get more seasonal, maybe adding a Maibock or Blueberry Weiss in the summer months," explains Schmidt.

Brewmaster Alan Bundy brews each and every keg on site in a full grain brewery. Customers can take "growlers" with them or attend brewery tours and tastings which Schmidt plans to start in the next couple months.

The Brewery is owned by Copul Enterprises, a local five-man investment group including Cudahy attorney Rick Michalski. The group, comprising a few local physicians and attorneys, is focusing on further development in the St. Francis area.

Schmidt, one half of the Schmidt Consulting Firm and owner of Oakcrest Tavern, was hired on to do the build / design, set-up and to manage the business. As the owner's restaurant industry guru, Schmidt contributed industry expertise in addition to hiring the staff, management and designer.

"In my former life, I opened Water Street Brewery with my brother RC as well as dozens of other restaurants. I've been doing this for 33 years," Schmidt says.

Initially, investors looked to the warehouse located on the north end of the lot as a potential site for the brew pub. After consideration, the group decided to build a new facility but maintains the possibility of development in the warehouse and on other parts of the corner block of land.

Development is a key aspect of Schmidt's and Michalski's planning. Future ideas for the warehouse include a dance studio or mixed-use space for a pharmacy and other retail.

"When you do a project of this magnitude, you hope to attract people to the area and we're hopeful the other corners of Kinnickinnic Avenue and Howard Avenue fill up. We don't want to threaten the business in the area but rather help draw people who might not otherwise venture to St. Francis," Schmidt says.

As for further development, Schmidt and Michalski are setting a strong precedent. Already, the brewery employs 60-70 people who will also work the private banquet room and an outdoor patio set to open in May.

"We have an advantage of being new and that we're going to cover the south portion of the county and city. There's a lot of draw and positives; we're very optimistic. Even if we are big, we're going to be a great local place," says Schmidt.

16 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by waterboy29 on Aug. 3, 2009 at 3:10 p.m. (report)

We were sadly disappointed after waiting so long for a new place to open in the St Francis area. The food is overpriced especially for the small portions. The beer is adiquate, but I have had much better from other local brewers at a much better price. It seems that this establishment is attempting to be something that it is not, mainly a higher end resturant. Unfourtunately is does not live up to that in either quality or atmosphere. We have given this place a few tries and will not be back because they do not seem to learn from there mistakes. We have also noticed the parking lot grow more and more empty due to lack of clients. This si really too bad considering if this place were run correctly, it could be a great business for the area.

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Posted by napplegate on May 7, 2009 at 8:54 p.m. (report)

There is a vast assortment of things that need to be ironed out at the St. Francis Brewery. For having too many staff on the floor at all times (4 bartenders and 2 barbacks on a thursday night?...really?) the service tends to be lacking due to having a generally first time staff with little to no service experience. To say the beers need work is an understatement for as a whole they are laughable. From sanitizer prominently featured in the scent of the glass to the beer that leaves you wondering, why am I paying five dollars for something little better than Miller Lite. The food isn't bad, on the same side of things it's not very good either. Standard pub fare makes this little different than any other place in Milwaukee. Shocking to learn of the affiliation with Water Street Brewery as it employs the same worn out concept that might have been feasible 10 years ago. As a whole, underimpressed comes to mind.

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Posted by BayViewer on April 23, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. (report)

Things still need to be tweated at St. Francis Brewery. Went there last Friday with my husband and son. Waited at the bar for 30 minutes. My husband sampled many of the beers, some okay, some he said needed to age more. The menu rather typical. I had a salty turkey sandwich, my husband had a fish fry which was good with generous portions, and my son had a fancy grilled cheese sandwich which was delicious. The service was slow, so I hope they iron that out. Decor bland - need more pictures. My husband commented on how massive behind the bar area was - lot of wasted space. All and all it was okay. Will definitely come back.

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Posted by Zizzieborden on April 21, 2009 at 9:52 a.m. (report)

Stopped in for the first, and probably last time this past Sunday. Boring, blah food. There are too many good places to eat in this area to spend any more money here. I will say that the service was pretty good.

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Posted by Adubbya79 on April 15, 2009 at 8:22 p.m. (report)

Not Worth the Wait! We visited this brewery, let me tell you sub-par. We were told the wait would be 30 minutes, we waited almost an hour. After we were seated, I noticed people that came after us were seated, served and almost completed their meals. When the manager came to our table, I brought this up and he apologized. He stated that there were some mozzarella sticks and onion rings on the way. When they arrive at the table there was not enough for everybody. When asked about their beer, nearly all but three different types were out. The burgers that were ordered were suppose to be medium. These were charred on the outside and cook well on the outside. Overall the only highlight was their beer.

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