Chef, owner, co-founder
The Bartolotta Restaurants | Milwaukee
Chef and restaurateur Paul Bartolotta leads The Bartolotta Restaurants, a group of 18 restaurants and catering facilities in the Milwaukee area. The group is known for its Milwaukee fine-dining concepts Bacchus – A Bartolotta Restaurant, Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro and Harbor House and the recently opened The Commodore – A Bartolotta Restaurant in Lake Country. Across all sites, the group employs more than 800 people. Bartolotta is a two-time winner and six-time James Beard Award nominee and has worked in kitchens all over the world, from Italy to Paris to New York to Las Vegas. He serves on the boards of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, Visit Milwaukee and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
Education: Graduate of the Restaurant and Hotel Management program at Milwaukee Area Technical College
What would you do if you could choose another career: “I would be a cobbler or a bespoke tailor. I love working with my hands and seeing something beautiful be created from start to finish.”
What would you like to change about Wisconsin: “We need more direct flights to and from Milwaukee. Not only because I love to travel, but I want others to be able to see Milwaukee’s beauty.”
Your secret talent: “I have the ability to sense things about people when I first meet them. I can see the good in everyone and can feel the tenderness in people, even when they can’t.”
If you could time travel: “I would travel back to any Christmas morning with my family when we lived on 71st Street in Wauwatosa when I was a child. Family means everything to me. And the second day would be my wedding day 25 years ago. Both moments have defined who I am today. “
2022 Wisconsin 275 Profile
Hospitality | Restaurants
Chef, owner, co-founder
The Bartolotta Restaurants | Milwaukee
Paul Bartolotta is a two-time James Beard award-winning chef and co-founder of The Bartolotta Restaurants. The restaurant group – which Paul co-founded in 1993 with his brother, the late Joe Bartolotta – today includes 17 restaurants and catering facilities in the Milwaukee area that range from fine dining (Lake Park Bistro, Harbor House and Bacchus) to casual grab-and-go concepts, like Downtown Kitchen inside the U.S. Bank Center. For three consecutive years, Joe and Paul were selected as semi-finalists for the James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Restaurateur, and Paul was also a finalist in 2020. This year, Bartolotta’s acquired the Harbor House property, opened Roundhouse at McKinley Marina, and is in the process of opening its newest fine dining restaurant at the former Seven Seas building in Delafield. Paul participated in the bidding process to bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to Milwaukee, traveling to Salt Lake City and hosting the site selection committee at Lake Park Bistro.
Education: Graduate of the Restaurant and Hotel Management program at Milwaukee Area Technical College
What was your first job, and what did you learn from it?
“I was a dishwasher at Balistreri’s Italian Restaurant in Wauwatosa. I learned hard work, discipline and to love working in a restaurant kitchen environment.”
What are some of your favorite destinations/places to visit?
“Italy, France, Spain, the U.K.”
What would people be surprised to learn about you (fun fact)?
“I am actually an introvert and a homebody. Despite my public personality, I am quite shy.”
What was your first car? How long did you drive it for?
“My first car was an Alpha Romero 164L. I drove it for five years. It had a burgundy exterior and a mustard yellow leather interior.”
If you could take a one-year sabbatical, what would you do?
“I would live in Naples, Italy and learn how to tailor men’s suits and I would live in Florence, Italy and learn how to be a cobbler and make handmade shoes.”
What’s the toughest business challenge you’ve had to overcome?
“Navigating COVID and the closures were by far the most difficult business challenge we have had to face. It wasn’t even that we had to close, but we had to tell people who worked for us that they couldn’t come to work. We made it a priority to take care of our people as best we could and make sure that no one struggled through quarantine. We set up food pantries and food delivery and if there was anything people needed, we tried to help out. Our team has grown to be family over the years and facing that was incredibly difficult.”
What has been your/your company’s most significant success over the last 12 months?
“The fact that we have not only reopened our venues and are operating successfully after COVID, but are really in growth mode as a company is a huge success that we are proud of. We fully acquired the Harbor House restaurant last summer. Bartolotta‘s Lake Park Bistro celebrated its 27th anniversary last year, and we celebrated by bringing back the popular a la carte menu that guests have been asking for. We also opened Roundhouse at McKinley Marina last summer as an amenity to the lake front, as well as signed on to open The Commodore – A Bartolotta Restaurant in Delafield this year. I am incredibly proud of the forward momentum of this company.”
What is one thing you would change about Wisconsin to make it even better?
“I want Wisconsinites to be more boastful about how amazing Wisconsin is! We live in the most incredible state. We have four beautiful seasons, farms and industries that produce products you can’t find anywhere else, miles and miles of lakefront providing unbeatable views, exceptional county parks and incredible activities. Wisconsin has small town charm, but it can actually compete with any state in the nation as far as sophistication, industry, and innovation.”
Is there a nonprofit cause that has special meaning to you?
“Breast cancer awareness and prevention non-profit organizations are very close to my heart.”
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?
“The biggest risk I ever took was to reconceptualize my restaurant Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas on the second day of operations. You have to be willing to change and adapt in this industry, sometimes quickly.”
Top of your bucket list:
“To eat Japanese food in Japan and visit the fish markets there.”
What has you most excited about the future?
“The Bartolotta Restaurants is all about forward momentum and growth. We are looking forward to expanding to Lake Country with the opening of The Commodore – A Bartolotta Restaurant this year. We are welcoming back business groups and large events at our catering partners. Our community took a big hit during COVID and we do not take for granted the position that we are in. We are thankful for our community for sticking by us, trusting us, and helping us succeed at what we do best.”