George Schmidt-founder of Schmidt's Restaurant dies

[buckeyefool]

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/04/08/schmidts-restaurant-sausage-haus.html

The man who brought Columbus the Schmidt?s Restaurant & Sausage Haus and the German Village Oktoberfest has died. George F. Schmidt, 91, died of natural causes Monday, his family said.

Schmidt is the grandson of J. Fred Schmidt, who opened a meatpacking business under the family name in 1886. The sausage business in 1914 expanded to a stand at the Ohio State Fair operated by George L. Schmidt, father of George F. Schmidt.

 

[ochre]

There's always money in the sausage stand?

 

[cincibuck]

My frame of reference is OSU in the mid-sixties. I was partial to Plank's. I loved the oiled floors, Jimmy, the old piano player who staggered in on Fridays and beat the hell out of the piano while we all sang Across the Field and Ist das nicht ein Schnitzelbahnk, sausage from Thurn's and in-house Schwarzwald Kuchen.

Since then Plank's has been on a down slide. The food is no longer what it was, the atmosphere has gone from a bit of Germany in Columbus to a sports bar with lots of TVs, terrible food and no je ne sais quoi. A sad demise.

I remember Schmidt's during the same period of time. Management set a different course and made the place a "must go to" stop for visitors. It became way too commercial for my taste, Disney does Germany in German Village, Columbus - and cream puffs.... really... but money matters, and on that account George was clearly the winner and he made German Village HOT!

Good on him.