Longtime downtown Milwaukee Italian restaurant Louise’s will shut its doors later this month, after 20 years in business.
The restaurant, located at 801 N. Jefferson St., will have its last service day on Saturday, Aug. 25 upon deciding not to renew its lease, said Tina Lawler, marketing and events director at Water Street Brewery. Both Louise’s and Water Street Brewery’s four Milwaukee-area locations are owned by local restaurateur R.C. Schmidt.
Lawler said the restaurant this week will discuss with its employees opportunities to work at other restaurants and bars owned by Schmidt, such as Vagabond, Trinity Three Irish Pubs and The Harp Irish Pub, all located in downtown Milwaukee.
The closure occurs two months after Louise’s Brookfield location shut down after 14 years. Schmidt in May also closed his East Side pub, Black Rose, after 10 years and sold the building.
Louise’s occupies a ground floor space in the building that formerly housed the Milwaukee Bar Association for 23 years. Up until last month, the nonprofit group had leased a 7,000-square-foot space from building owner Cathedral Square Limited Partnership. It now occupies the former Moceans space at 747 N. Broadway, relocating when its lease expired in July.
