Prost! Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter to reopen this month

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
Updated ·4 min read
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The Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter restaurant will reopen later this month with the same name, the same decor, the same hours, the same menu and the same 12 taps that serve only German beer.

The only thing new is owner Jimmy Martin, who in April bought the German restaurant in Grant from longtime owner Kim Quade. The restaurant was founded in 1966 by Bavarian native Karl Schoene and his wife, Elizabeth; Quade was previously married to Carl Schoene Jr., who died in 2003. The restaurant closed in December 2021.

“It’s an honor to have been chosen as the next steward of the Gasthaus,” said Martin, 42, of Lake Elmo. “I intend for it to operate the same as it always has been. It’s important that it remains the same for the community.”

Recipes that were on the Gasthaus menu for 50 years will be back, including sauerbraten and schnitzel (10 kinds), schweinshaxe (pork knuckle), and a herring sampler that features pickled herring, mustard herring and herring in apples, onions and seasoning, Martin said.

Only German beers will be allowed on tap, Martin said. “No domestic beer has ever flowed through the tap at the Gasthaus,” he said. “That’s how Karl started it, and that’s how it’s going to remain.”

Interest from others

Several people with different concepts for the restaurant were interested in purchasing the property, just southwest of Manning Avenue and McKusick Road North, but Quade said she and her husband, Dan, wanted the Gasthaus to remain the Gasthaus.

“We held out until we found someone who was interested in keeping it as it was and maintaining that authenticity and tradition,” Quade said. “We wanted to keep it the same so people coming in can have the same experience they’ve had for a long time.”

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Said Martin: “I’m lucky. It’s pretty incredible that they chose me. I know that this is important to Kim and Dan, and I know it would be important to Carl, too.”

When customers return, they’ll find the same pine-paneled interior, deer-antler chandeliers, cuckoo clocks and beer-stein collection. The biggest beer stein, displayed in a lighted glass case just inside the entrance, is 4 feet tall and holds eight gallons. The inscription on the rim: “Wer diesen Humpen leeren kann, ist fuer Wahr ein ganzer Mann.” (He who can empty this beer stein is truly a real man.)

On one wall is a map of Bavaria with principal towns and cities lit with small electric lights; a copy of the German newspaper Wochen-Post will once again hang on a hook in the hallway. “I had stopped my subscription, but I’ve already reordered it,” Quade said.

“It’s like the door was closed, and you walk back in, and everything is the exact same as when we left it,” she said. “We left everything as is. All we did was clean everything from head to toe, so they could walk in and continue the Gasthaus as it always has been. Everyone can return home when the doors open.”

Gasthaus connection

Martin has a long history with the Gasthaus. He is a partner in Hammer-Schlagen, a trademarked game invented by Schoene Jr. in which several contestants try to hammer a nail into a stump. The game gained popularity during festivals held on the grounds of the Gasthaus and soon spread throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.

According to a history of the company posted on the Hammer-Schlagen website, Schoene Jr. would often “use the game in an attempt to sell beer, the loser being bound to purchase a round at his restaurant for the winners.”

In the late-1980’s, Quade’s father, Mike Wlaschin, took over the game, and he eventually formed a corporation in 1999 – with Martin’s help – which introduced Hammer-Schlagen to the rest of the country. Upon Wlaschin’s retirement in 2014, Martin took over the brand.

The Gasthaus hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, just like they always were, Martin said.

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Martin said an opening date is planned for later this month.

“I’m going to start with a biergarten – serving brats and beer outside – since the weather is so nice, and then open the restaurant once it’s fully staffed,” he said. “Hospitality has had a humongous problem with labor, and the Gasthaus is no different. We’re looking for good people who love the German culture.”

Martin, who is German on both sides of his family, said applicants need not necessarily speak German — even though the menu will be written in the language.

“Really, as long as they know how to say ‘Prost,’ we’ll be in good shape,” Martin said.

Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter

  • When: Opening soon. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

  • Where: 8390 Lofton Ave., Grant

  • Information: 651-439-7128, www.gasthausbavarianhunter.com