MESSAGE 7: MICHAEL SCHMIDT

Michael Schmidt

Owner, The Bearded Pig & Tomo Development

Question:  As a leader, what is your message to Americans who are frightened about the future due to the Coronavirus?

Message: My message is simply that if we all stick together we will get through this. It seems simple, but at times like this, the simple and straightforward is what people need to hear most.

We have 55 employees at The Bearded Pig and from the beginning of this we decided to close to ensure the safety of our staff and our guests. Our staff relies on us to lead and we have had a contingency plan in place for a hurricane potentially closing us for the past couple of years. We decided to enact that plan early on during the current crisis to reserve capital so we could ensure that we would be able to weather the storm financially (paying our bills, paying our staff, keeping morale up, etc.).

I am confident that all levels of our government, from City Hall, to the Governor’s Mansion, to the halls of Congress, will come together at this time to see that the millions of small business owners and their employees will be provided assistance that can get us through this mess.

I am hopeful that we will collectively make the call to stay home and flatten the curve. I feel that a few weeks of everything closing down will be easier to overcome economically than a delayed response that allows the virus to spread and could result in much worse economic impact.

In summary: stay home, listen to scientists and the medical community, and stay safe.

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Michael was born in Jacksonville in 1978. He went to elementary school at JCDS and high school at Episcopal. After going to Hampden-Sydney for undergrad Michael moved to Washington, DC. He worked in politics on a national campaign, but left politics to work for a friend’s barbecue restaurant.

Michael found his way back to Jacksonville after September 11th. He worked in real estate, but eventually found his way to architecture school at the University of Florida. Michael received his Master’s of Architecture in 2008 with certificates in Sustainability and Historic Preservation. While he was in graduate school, he got married. After graduate school, Michael and his Wife moved to Boston for his wife to study at MIT.

Michael practiced architecture at Ann Beha Architects, one of the most prestigious architecture firms in the US. While at Ann Beha Architects, he worked on projects ranging from museums, universities, libraries, and residences.

Michael left architecture to open The Bearded Pig catering company in 2011. Eventually he opened a full service restaurant in Union Square, Somerville, MA.

In 2013, Michael moved back to Jacksonville with his Wife and young son and worked in architecture and design. Despite a successful career in architecture and design, the restaurant world called him back and he opened The Bearded Pig in 2016, which has grown to be one of the most popular barbecue restaurants in Jacksonville. The Bearded Pig is in the process of opening a second location in Jacksonville Beach.

Michael is also a real estate developer, through his company Tomo Devleopment, which is currently focused on multi-family. JTB, a 350 unit multi-family project, opened last summer and is almost fully leased and his firm just broke ground on a 377 unit multi-family project in the Jacksonville’s Southside.

For the past several years, Michael served on the board of Greenscape. He currently is on the board of Jacksonville Country Day School. Michael, along with his business partner in The Bearded Pig, and other restaurants, are starting a non-profit to support hospitality workers in emergent need. Michael is a graduate of the 2019 Weaver Philanthropic Initiative class.

Michael and his wife, Mishayla, have two children, Thierry (7), currently a 1st grader at JCDS, and Waylon (16 months), with a little girl on way in May. He enjoys playing golf, cooking, and spending time with his family.

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Photo: Courtesy Michael Schmidt