A New Classic
At the ripe age of 13, Beau Schmidt started working in restaurants. He began washing dishes and making pizzas at Papa Felice’s Pizza, and by age 19, he opened his first restaurant, Oakwood Grill. At only 26 years old, Schmidt opened his namesake restaurant, Beau’s Grille, now in the Hilton Akron Fairlawn. Twenty-five years later, all his ventures — including his Cuyahoga Falls restaurant, Beau’s on the River, and Colorado offshoot, Beau’s Kitchen & Tavern — are still going strong. The passion for food that Schmidt developed growing up in a family of professional cooks has driven him through the years.
“I like making people happy with food,” says Schmidt, who won the 330 Flavor Award for best chef in The 330.
With nearly 40 years in the local restaurant scene, Schmidt has seen seismic changes: More restaurants have closed than he can count, and new ones continuously change the game. He shares how the scene has evolved and how his restaurants have endured through it all.
Q: What popular local flavors are you seeing?
People are trying to keep things on the lighter side. They’re using more vinaigrettes than heavy sauces. It’s where a lot of people’s diets have gone: fresh vegetables, healthy grains and good, clean protein. They like farm raised and antibiotic free. I think it’s going to stay where it is for a while.
Q: How has the local restaurant scene changed?
The scene is more casual with dress, price and environment, too. You don’t see as many white tablecloths. People have learned to get away from fine dining a little bit because it’s costly.
Q: What has made your restaurants successful?
We try to stay with the times. We try to see what’s coming through the Midwest.There are more local products available now, so we try to use more local products.A lot of different flavors is what works best for our customers. So we tried to make a menu that they can have multiple favorite dishes. We offer a variety of lighter and heavier dishes. People still love the homemade old favorites, the meatloaves, Swiss steaks, stuffed peppers, roast beefs and gravies.
Q: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned over the years?
With the growing community of restaurants, you’ve always got to think how you’re going to keep yourself relevant, whether that’s with your food, redecorating or service. How do you keep the best employees? How do you keep the place looking fresh and keep your menu fresh? It keeps you outlasting some of these chains.It’s scary to think that you can outlast chains when you’re a little independent guy, but we’ve outlasted so many of them. It’s unbelievable.
Beau’s Grille, 3180 W. Market St., Akron, 330-867-5218, beausgrille.com; Beau’s on the River, 1989 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, 330-920-7530, beausontheriver.com