This week, Brauhaus Cleveland LLC broke ground on the new Hofbrauhaus Cleveland in PlayhouseSquare in the most apropos fashion -- with a German oom-pah band, sausages and huge steins of beer. Project developers aim to complete the new restaurant and brewery by the end of 2014.

"Everything started in 1589 when the Bavarian kings decided the beer wasn't good enough for them, so they created their own brewery," extolled Maximilian Erlmeier, a former Hofbrauhaus Munich executive and chairman of Cincinnati Restaurant Group. "Now, every year two million people come to the Hofbrauhaus to enjoy food and great beer, and six million come to Oktoberfest. We thought, 'We should export this.'"

Hofbrauhaus Cleveland will become the latest franchise in the growing empire, which includes locations in Cincinnati, Chicago and Las Vegas. The Cleveland site will incorporate the Hermit Club and feature 24,000 square feet of space, including nearly 600 indoor seats and more than 1,000 outdoor seats in the beer garden. The famous Hofbrau beer will be brewed on site, and Bavarian dishes will be served.

The project is a huge win for PlayhouseSquare, which has in recent years developed a vibrant restaurant scene. The Hofbrauhaus project is one of the first development deals to push PlayhouseSquare's growth north towards Chester Avenue.

"We're really excited because this is one more step in PlayhouseSquare's growth," said Art Falco, President of PlayhouseSquare. "This is an incredible destination, but we want to see more young people here. With an outdoor beer garden right by CSU and PlayhouseSquare, we think this is a home run."

Source: Art Falco, Maximilian Erlmeier
Writer: Lee Chilcote