Oakland Gyros owner buying nearby pub building

The owner of Oakland Gyros, on Milwaukee’s east side, is buying a nearby building and will look for new tenants to replace a recently closed pub and restaurant.

Olympia – Kalts LLC, led by Chris Karampelas, is paying $1.15 million for the two-story building, 2850-2862 N. Oakland Ave., said Bob Dufek, who helped broker the transaction.

Dufek represented the buyer, and Founders 3 represented the seller, R.C. Schmidt Jr.

Schmidt operated Black Rose Irish Pub at the building before it closed last week. The building also housed Schmidt’s Monster Pizza, which closed late last year.

Karampelas said Friday he plans to remodel the building’s four upper-floor three-bedroom apartments.

He also will look for restaurants or other businesses to lease the street-level commercial space, which totals around 7,400 square feet.

“We have a vested interest in the neighborhood to make sure it goes in the right direction,” Karampelas said.

The Karampelas family has operated Oakland Gyros, 2867 N. Oakland Ave., for 34 years.

The family’s investment groups also own the nearby Miramar Theatre building, 2840-2846 N. Oakland Ave., and the building at 3121 N. Oakland Ave. that houses Noodles & Co.

Other neighborhood developments include plans to demolish the Cousins Subs building, 2900 N. Oakland Ave., and replace it with a five-story building with 55 apartments and 6,500 square feet of retail space.

Schmidt this week also sold his recently closed RC’s Beer Garden, 1530 E. North Ave., for $800,000 to a group led by convenience store operator Harjeet “Rick” Walia. That 5,300-square-foot building is a likely redevelopment play.

Schmidt’s other operations include Water Street Brewery, with locations in downtown Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Delafield and Grafton, and Trinity Three Irish Pubs in downtown Milwaukee.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.