Burning Questions

Brian Mitchell

Brian Mitchell

Brian Mitchell recently closed his Madison-based, minority-owned construction business, Brian A. Mitchell Construction, opting instead to buy Choice Construction Cos. of Menomonee Falls.

For the last 25 years, Brian A. Mitchell Construction specialized in building bridges. Mitchell said the company’s projects include Madison’s beltline bridge over Mud Lake and the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge in Milwaukee.

Mitchell said he first started bridge work while working a summer job with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The next summer he continued working on bridges with Edward Kraemer & Sons Inc., he said.

The 54-year-old Chicago native’s purchase of Choice Construction Cos. was financed by Generation Growth Capitol Inc., a private investment firm in Milwaukee managed by former Wisconsin Department of Commerce secretary Cory Nettles.

Mitchell, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, said he wanted to buy Choice Construction to expand, enter new markets and work with Nettles and Generation Growth Capital.

Wisconsin Builder’s Burning Questions wanted to learn a little bit more about the man with the plan for growth. We have questions to ask, and this month, Mitchell answered them.

If you weren’t in construction, what type of work would you like to do? Some type of marine work. I love the sea.

What person in your life motivates you most?

My father is my strongest model.

What is the first concert you went to?

I saw Little Stevie Wonder at the old Regal Theatre in Chicago when I was 10 or 11.

If you could do one thing over again, what would it be?

Pay more attention.

What food do you crave?

I love seafood Gumbo. It’s spicy and never the same twice, and it reminds me of family.

What makes you laugh?

A good stand-up comedian. I appreciate the ability to use language and timing to turn common observation and experience into humor.

What skill do you wish you had or were better at?

I am a terrible dancer. It would have been useful.

If you could be a character from a popular TV show, who would it be?

I don’t watch much popular TV, so how about Humphrey Bogart? His rapid delivery and glib demeanor is never equaled.

One place in the world I would love to visit is?

Truk Lagoon in Micronesia. It is the super bowl of shipwreck diving.

What word do you wish you invented?

Embarcadero. I just like the sound of it.

One thing I always forget to do is?

Floss

What profession would you not like to participate in?

Law enforcement. I don’t have the temperament to carry a loaded firearm into volatile, threatening situations.

The key to happiness is …

Found within ourselves.