Like Cheers
Eric and Carrie Schmidt’s Orange & Brew establishment in Downers Grove, Illinois is known as a “bottle shop.” The bar doesn’t brew its own beers but features 10 “lines” of craft beers, which rotate among the several hundred local breweries. It also has a selection of more than 300 packaged bottles, including wine and seltzer, for purchase to take home. (Image by Scott Thompson)
It was a total surprise when a bar regular texted Eric J. Schmidt, ’95 MEDIA, the exciting news. Craft Beer & Brewing, a top industry publication, had named Orange & Brew No. 10 in the magazine’s “Best Beer Bars Around the World.”
“It was pretty cool and a big surprise,” says Schmidt. “I kept copies of the magazine in case they had the wrong place.”
It was not the wrong place. For four years, Orange & Brew, the bar Eric had started with his wife Carrie, ’95 MEDIA, had been making a unique name for itself in Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb.
“What makes us special,” says Schmidt, “is the community. We’ve created an amazing experience, whether it’s your first or 50th time here. We want to be approachable. We’re not a place for beer snobs. We like it when someone asks for ‘something like Blue Moon.’ We explain what might be similar and let them try a splash. We’re very friendly. We’re like Cheers.”
“What makes us special is the community. We’ve created an amazing experience, whether it’s your first or 50th time here.” —Eric Schmidt, ’95 MEDIA
The appeal of Schmidt’s corner bar extends beyond its tenured staff and its welcoming attitude. Orange & Brew, in case you missed the name nudge, is steeped in the U. of I. Eric and Carrie met at Illinois. Back then, he managed R & R Sports Grill and she was DJ at Corcoran’s and WPGU. Carrie, who’s a silent partner in Craft Beer Brewing, now heads sales for a Canadian furniture company.
“I drive the kids around. I provide the dental, medical and 401k. I’ve got a regular job so he can pursue his passion. It works very well for us. I’m the steady Eddie; he’s the one with stars in his eyes,” Carrie says.
“She’s very modest,” Eric chimes in. “She works in marketing and sales and comes up with great ideas.”
A key promotional idea has been to make Orange & Brew the place to watch Illini games. Schmidt realized that of all the bars there are in the Chicago area, few, if any, had the Illinois angle.
For the second year in a row, Craft Beer & Brewing named Orange & Brew, a bar founded by Eric Schmidt and his wife, Carrie, to its top 10 “Best Beer Bars Around the World.” (Image by Scott Thompson)
“It’s not that we’re trying to cash in on the name,” he says, “It’s just that we’re trying to bring something of our story. [We filled] an undiscovered business niche.”
Orange & Brew is known as a “bottle shop.” The bar doesn’t brew its own beers but features 10 “lines” of craft beers, which rotate among the several hundred local breweries. It has what’s known as a “combo license,” which means it also sells packaged bottles to take home, a selection of more than 300, including wine and seltzer.
Despite all the offerings and unique U. of I. appeal, business can be “inconsistent,” Schmidt admits. These dips are common in the craft business and were exacerbated by COVID-19. When people stopped going out to bars, they realized how much craft beer they hoarded at home, Eric explains, and cut back on their buying habit.
The couple has two teenagers, who they hope will attend Illinois.
“They’re very into the U. of I. We’ve got tons of pictures of them going to games, wearing the clothes, but we may have pushed it a little too hard,” says Carrie with a laugh. “Teenagers just don’t want to do what their parents want them to do.”
