Tragic Loss
Rembrandt's Galley & Wine Bar owner
will be missed
He died in December from a brain aneurysm
(March 2021) – Madison, Ind., lost a beloved business owner and friend when it was announced that Robert Maile Jr. had lost his fight with a brain aneurysm that he suffered back in August 2020. Maile, 68, died Thursday, Dec. 24, at the University of Cincinnati Hospital from complications related to that brain aneurysm. Maile had become the affable owner of the popular Rembrandt’s Gallery & Wine Bar on Main Street.
According to his obituary, Maile was born in Colerain, Ohio, on July 28, 1952, to Robert J. and Ilse Maile. He grew up in Colerain, graduated school there, and later earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati. He married Gail Verbarg-Maile in 1980, and they moved to Madeira, Ohio, and had a son.
He worked at Procter and Gamble for 13 years as a biologist before leaving to buy, renovate, and sell historic buildings all over Cincinnati. In 2001, that interest in historic preservation sparked a transition to Madison, where he moved his family part-time and opened two businesses on Main Street – the Madison Table Works and The Artisans Gallery.
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File photo Bob Maile realized his dream of operating a wine bar and art gallery in Madison, Ind. |
Jennifer Loechler first met Maile in January 2009. “I walked into the gallery on a Friday and asked him if there were any openings there. He said that he could use an assistant to help him get organized and to show up Monday morning. I remember we had a very large snowfall that weekend. I lived on East Main Street at the time and ended up walking down the alley in the snow to my first day. When I got there, he couldn’t believe I had shown up,” she said.
“Both Madison Table Works and the Artisans Gallery were operated by Bob Maile. He was swift to tell anyone that the building was once a wagon and carriage factory and that many of the original features of it were still there.”
Madison Table Works specialized in handcrafted wooden tables. “The MTW team consisted of Bob and Micah Curry. Bob would design the tables, and Micah would build them,” said Loechler. “They would search for the most interesting boards with the most beautiful grains to create what Bob called “functional artwork,” art that could be used by a family for generations to come.”
At the time Loechler began working with Maile. The late Bob Saueressig, a well-known local artist, ran The Artisans Gallery. “I had worked with (Saueressig) previously at Belterra Casino, and we were friends, so I was especially happy that he was there. He had his easel set up toward the front of the gallery and would allow customers to watch him paint. At the time, the gallery featured over 50 local artists’ work,” she said.
As time went on, Maile began thinking of ways he could expand the business.
“He had a dream for many years that he would like to open a wine bar where the people of Madison could come and relax in a beautiful setting. He would populate it with Madison Table Works tables and surround everyone with the fine work from the Artisans Gallery,” said Loechler. “He originally thought that he would like to bake homemade bread in a brick oven to sell, but that eventually morphed into making brick oven artisan pizza. As Bob’s assistant, I got to be the guinea pig whenever he tried a new recipe.”
Loechler’s role eventually changed from working as Maile’s assistant to serving as one of his two trusted advisors, along with Micah Curry.
“The three of us put together business plans for the new wine bar venture. I took over all of the office work, designed the company websites and kept the social media up to date. Bob would often come to me just to talk out his plans. He seemed to make decisions best when he could bounce ideas off of someone, and I became that person. We came from two very different backgrounds, so he appreciated when I had a differing view. He liked that I wasn’t afraid to tell him when something wouldn’t work.”
In November 2014, Maile’s dream was realized with the opening of Rembrandt’s Gallery & Wine Bar, which offered artisan wines from small wineries around the world, wood-fired pizza, charcuterie boards, salads and desserts.
“People came from all over to experience the ambiance that Rembrandt’s offered, made possible by Bob’s eye for interior design and lighting and his great taste in food and wine. He could usually be found carrying around a giant wine glass and talking to the guests, which is something he enjoyed above all else,” said Loechler.
A particularly high point at Rembrandt’s was the Casino Royale Night in November 2017, Loechler said. “Bob always loved James Bond, so he decided to have a glamorous party based on the Casino Royale movie. It was a spectacular night with live casino games, champagne and lots of glitz and glitter. Bob dressed like Bond himself in a tux, and I enjoyed pulling out my old sequined prom dress for a night.”
In 2018, Maile lobbied to bring a new type of liquor license to downtown Madison called a Riverfront License. “The state of Indiana had created the license type several years before, but it needed to be approved by the City. Bob spent many months petitioning and urging City Hall to offer the licenses to downtown businesses, and they finally did,” said Loechler.
After getting a Riverfront License, Rembrandt’s could sell beer and liquor along with wine. “Bob expanded the menu to provide a large selection of craft beers, hard liquors, and cocktails. He also added fine cigars to go with the many bourbons and Scotches on the menu. We were just really getting going with that when COVID-19 hit and shut everything down,” Loechler said.
With the pandemic shutdown, Maile began to think of ways to make changes at Rembrandt’s. “He had big plans to re-open later in the year with a much larger wine menu. Just as we were buying inventory and getting ready to re-open, the unthinkable happened when he had a brain aneurysm and stroke that put him in the hospital until his passing,” said Loechler.
“The last time I saw him in person, he was in an extremely optimistic good mood, talking about all of the great new things we would be doing at Rembrandt’s. That’s how I like to think of him. He had days when he was so animated and inspired, and that was one of them,” she said. “I will truly miss him. After almost 12 years of knowing him and working side-by-side, he became like a second father to me.
Loechler, along with her husband and kitchen manager, Josh, and Gail Maile, had hoped to re-open the business, but that plan changed near the end of last year. However, Maile’s legacy will not be forgotten.
“He brought a different venue to Madison that was welcome. It was a nice place to go for an evening,” said friend and Rembrandt’s patron Brenda Eversole of Madison. “He was always very friendly and a real gentleman. He and Rembrandt’s will be truly missed by many.”
“Bob Maile was a man who enjoyed the finer things in life,” said Loechler. “He had varied tastes and would switch between playing Beethoven and Blondie. He enjoyed art, music, a great wine, a nice cigar and the handmade rocking chair next to the fireplace in the wine bar. At the same time, he wasn’t afraid to get dirty and work hard. He often referred to himself as ‘The Janitor That Owns the Building’ because a lot of times he could be found doing some sort of handyman work around the property.”
He was an extremely passionate person who threw himself completely into whatever his current project was, and he felt most at home talking to, and spending time with, the people who visited Rembrandt’s.”
Survivors include his wife of 40 years; his son, Joseph Maile; his brothers, David Maile and Michael Maile; and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service is being planned in spring 2021.
Arrangements were handled by Spring Grove Cemeteries, Funeral Homes & Cremation.