For more than 40 years, RC’s was one of the longest-running bars on the East Side, having been an icon to at least a couple generations of good-time seekers.
Though it closed in 2018 and its building was razed four years later, the RC's legacy lives on in the other businesses owned by the Schmidt family, including Water Street Brewery, The Brewery, Vagabond, Trinity Three Irish Pubs and The Harp.
The Brewery – which was Milwaukee’s first brewpub when it opened as Water Street Brewery in 1987 and was rebranded in 2022 – will host a celebration next month celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of RC’s, the bar that started it all for the Schmidt clan.
The party is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at The Brewery, 1101 N. Water St., which has been getting a bit of RC’s memorabilia added to the walls of the back bar lately.
There will be food specials, drink specials, a special food menu, old school beers on tap and more.
There will also be RC’s merch for sale, including hats, T-shirts, matchbooks, koozies and more.
Robert "RC" Schmidt originally opened RC's in 1974 in a small brick storefront that was added to the front of an existing house at 1528 E. North Ave. Four years later, Schmidt moved his bar next door to a former laundromat building to the east and tore down the old house to make room for a beer garden.
As I wrote in this story, RC’s was rocking in the 1980s and into the ‘90s, with the assistance of Schmidt’s brother Rick, and the bar was a essential stop on any young reveler’s night out.
But, things had slowed by the dawn of the new millennium. Schmidt’s brother Rick had moved on to open his own place and RC’s attention had turned to other projects, like Water Street Brewery, and that’s when family member Mike Foy stepped in.
Foy and his wife ran the place for a few years before heading Downtown to help open and then manage Trinity Three Irish Pubs (one of which, you’ll notice, bears his surname).
As RC’s popularity faded on North Avenue in the midst of a changing landscape, the Schmidt family’s attention turned more to its other businesses and RC’s, in Foy’s words, "really starting becoming an afterthought."
Thus arrived the end of the road for RC’s.
But the bar and its memories remain beloved for many and you can expect to see some of those folks at the party.
“RC's was more than just a building,” says RC’s son Matt Schmidt, who is COO/CEO of the family business. “It was a place that created amazing memories for people. It was the place to go when you wanted to have a good time.
“RC's connected a lot of people with lifelong relationships. The anniversary party is a chance to share some old stories and celebrate with former staff and customers.”
So bring your favorite RC’s memories and expect to see some familiar faces.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
