BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Shoots of beer sprayed Karin Ludwig's feet Saturday, but she didn't budge from the freshly tapped, spouting keg.
Ms. Ludwig made the trip to Cincinnati's Oktoberfest from Munich, Germany, where foamy steins of beer are as much a part of the culture as, say, chili is to Cincinnati.
So she didn't appear to mind that her black heels were splashed with sweet-smelling beer as she helped tap the keg Saturday.
And now she and other Germans hope to get a foothold on their sister city's thirst for authentic German brew.
Ms. Ludwig is the international license - franchise manager for the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, which announced last May a commitment to open a beer garden on Cincinnati's riverfront. The beer garden would be the company's first in the United States.
Hofbrauhaus has a tent at the Oktoberfest downtown at Fifth and Walnut Streets, where the company hopes to spread the word of their plans to open the business.
Ms. Ludwig said because of Cincinnati's strong German heritage, she is confident a two-story, authentic Bavarian restaurant and beer garden will be built near the riverfront and open in spring 2001.
The restaurant would serve Bavarian food and beer and would seat 500 people indoors and 500 people outside, she said.
"I think that the Hofbrauhaus should be part of the riverfront development," she said.
Tentative plans would place the business just east of the Bengals' new Paul Brown Stadium and south of Second Street, next to a park, said Andi Udris, director of the city's Department of Economic Development.
No official plans have been approved by city officials yet. Cincinnati economic development officials originally planned for the beer garden to be built next to the new football stadium. But City Council killed the economic development department's riverfront development plan last April.
Before any new plans are approved, City Council has to first adopt the planning process to revitalize the central riverfront. Then requests can be made for development and developers can lease space to tenants, Mr. Udris said.
Hofbrauhaus officials have expressed interest in becoming one of those tenants, and the riverfront site "meets their needs," he said.
The site is appealing because of its proximity to the stadium, convention centers in Cincinnati and Kentucky as well as the hotel and retail areas, Mr. Udris said.
The deal to bring a Hofbrauhaus to Cincinnati has been more than two years in the making, starting with a visit Mayor Roxanne Qualls made to Munich as part of a sister-city trip.
Hofbrauhaus would open its flagship restaurant here and is interested in developing a series of restaurants and brew pubs throughout the United States, Mr. Udris said. Hofbrauhaus officials are looking at locations in Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee and near Detroit, he said.
