Put on your lederhosen and cue the umpah band -- Hofbrauhaus is coming to Pittsburgh.
Plans for the German-style beer hall and restaurant at SouthSide Works housing and retail complex were unveiled Tuesday before the city planning commission.
Hofbrauhaus, which operates a microbrewery in Newport, Ky. -- across the river from Cincinnati -- is hoping to break ground on the South Side project in June. Completion is slated for late January, said Nicholas Ellison, the company's president.
The 18,000-square-foot facility, which will have a view of the Monongahela River, will seat more than 980 customers -- including about 380 seats in an outdoor beer garden and terrace, said Ellison.
Ellison estimated the project will cost about $6 million.
A brewmaster will be imported from Germany to oversee production of half a dozen varieties of beer, one of which will change monthly, Ellison said. Beer also will be imported from Germany for annual Oktoberfest celebrations, he said. Bands playing traditional German music also will be featured.
Hofbrauaus' menu will include what Ellison describes as "hard-core Bavarian cuisine" -- schweinbraten, sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel. German foods more familiar to Americans, such as bratwurst and beerwurst, also will be served. The menu also will feature such American fare as hamburgers and chicken wings.
The brewery's nine fermenting tanks and six "bright" beer tanks filled with ready-to-serve brews will be housed outside the stone-and-stucco building, featuring a red slate-styled roof. The outdoor seating area will be covered with a blue-and-white fabric awning.
The style of the building borrows heavily from the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, which was built in 1897, Ellison said.
