By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Stefan Neumann, master butcher at German Cuisine, wheels a rack of sausage in the company's facility. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

ELSMERE - Hofbrauhaus has been wunderbar for the German Cuisine butcher shop and deli.

Two months ago the shop that makes and sells German goods - including its own brands of sausages, brats, wieners and metts - began doing business with the Hofbrauhaus, the Newport restaurant and beer garden based on its famous namesake in Munich, Germany.

Since then, German Cuisine has invested $250,000 in new equipment and started work on a 2,000-square-foot addition to its shop along Dixie Highway in Elsmere that sits just north of the Florence city line, all to handle the Hofbrauhaus' business.

"The Hofbrauhaus accounts for about 40 percent of our business now," said Karen Koeppe, who along with her husband, Detlef, and partner, Stefan Neumann, own and operate German Cuisine.

"And 75 to 80 percent of their food comes from us - brats, wieners, pork, our Ooh Mama Metts, fleischkaese, which is a German meat loaf, pork schnitzel, pepper salami, landjaeger, beer sausage," she added.

"We know German food, and they sell German food," Koeppe said. "It's been great for us. We're thrilled they are here."

Since its opening in late April, the Hofbrauhaus, which sits just across Third Street from the Newport on the Levee entertainment complex, has been a hit with consumers. Customer counts on Friday and Saturday nights can reach 4,000, and people often wait two hours or more to get in the restaurant that not only sells German food but also makes Hofbrauhaus beer, said Scott A. Elsaesser, the restaurant's director of operations.

But Hofbrauhaus also has benefited area businesses, particularly those that trade in German food.

German Cuisine not only sells directly to the restaurant but also is experiencing a boost in business from people getting a taste of authentic German food.

"We have the privilege of having one of our store posters in the lobby at the Hofbrauhaus," Koeppe said. "Since then we've seen an increase in our regular store clientele. People eat at the Hofbrauhaus and they want to try some other German food, so they come here."

At the Strudel Haus in Covington, owner Mick Noll said business has doubled since he started selling strudel to Hofbrauhaus.

"It's been overwhelming," said Noll, who would not release specifics about his sales. "Our business is up over 100 percent. Hofbrauhaus has had a great impact on our business, and to have it here in Greater Cincinnati is really phenomenal. There's so much German heritage in this area, you just knew it was going to be big."

Business at Bernhard's Bakery, a chain of four family-owned bakeries based in Newport, isn't up quite so dramatically. But its hard-roll business has increased thanks to Hofbrauhaus, said owner Bernie Hoelmer.

"We've done as many as 100 dozen hard rolls a day for Hofbrauhaus," said Hoelmer, a native of Germany who trained there as a pastry chef. "And we've done some specialty baking for them. It makes me feel good not just to have the business, but to be working for a place that has such a strong German heritage.

"They aren't our biggest customer, but I'd like to do even more business with them," he said.

The Hofbrauhaus received preliminary approval for a state tax rebate during the 2003 Kentucky General Assembly session held earlier this year in Frankfort. It is awaiting final approval of the rebate - 25 cents of every $1 in state taxes over 10 years - provided under the state's Tourism Development Act.

State Sen. Katie Stine, R-Fort Thomas, said lawmakers envisioned the local business spin-off when Hofbrauhaus was given approval to seek the tax break.

"Anytime you analyze a project you look at the multiplier effect, which is how many times one dollar spent at a project like this turns over in the community," said Stine, who chairs the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee and who worked to pass the legislation.

"Hofbrauhaus is a real good example of that spin-off dollar circulating to other business in the community and its shows how committing tourism dollars to Hofbrauhaus and developments like it can result in other businesses reaping the benefits," Stine said.

As many as 75 Kentucky lawmakers will be in Northern Kentucky today and Thursday for a series of committee meetings and to visit attractions such as the Hofbrauhaus and Newport on the Levee.

Eric Haas of Fort Thomas, who developed Hofbrauhaus with partner Nick Ellison, also of Fort Thomas, said he is eager to show legislators the project many helped make possible.

"They went through a lot in Frankfort, particularly our Northern Kentucky lawmakers, to get this legislation passed," Haas said. "But their vision about what is important for the state got them to work together and make this happen."

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com