Bayrischer Hof German restaurant closes in Montrose

Bayrischer Hof German restaurant in Montrose closed its doors for good Friday.
Owner Ute Lammers indicated that she couldn’t afford her lease any longer and that the economy was too poor for her business.
It was a hard decision for her to make, she said. The closing ends 15 years of colorful fanfare, food and boisterous drinking music under Lammers’ ownership; although the restaurant has existed prior to her ownership as a German establishment.
The business is well-known for its accordion-style authentic music, as guests indulge in rich German food and beer or wine.
In the fall, Oktoberfest celebrations are observed at Bayrischer Hof that turn the empty parking lot into a festival of German heritage.
One such event caught the eye of the Star Tribune, with writer Jeremy Iggers writing this review in 2000:
“Outside the Bayrischer Hof restaurant in Montrose, a 140-foot tent festooned with the blue and white checkered banners of Bavaria is erected in a field, and for one weekend in September, a tradition that began nearly 200 years ago in Munich is reenacted.
“At long rows of tables, men and women hoist high their steins of Paulaner and Spaten Oktoberfest or Warsteiner lager, and are led by boisterous men in lederhosen in rousing cheers of ‘Zicki-Zacki! Zicki-Zacki! Hoi Hoi Hoi!”
“Oktoberfest at the Bayrischer Hof in Montrose can’t quite match the original Munich festival for size, but the spirit is the same.
“The annual bacchanalia on Munich’s Teresienwiese attracted 5.8 million visitors last year, who consumed 5.8 million liters of beer, 589,000 chickens, 320,000 wuerstchen (sausages) and 84 oxen. More than six million revelers are expected for this years’ celebration, which began Sept. 16 and lasts until Oct. 3.
“At Montrose, 40 miles west of Minneapolis on Hwy. 12, the tallies are more modest.”
The festival in 2000 provided 2,350 liters of imported Paulaner, Spaten and Warsteiner beers, and served about 1,800 bratwurst.
“The Montrose Oktoberfest, held the first weekend after Labor Day, is the first of the Minnesota season; most other local German restaurants celebrate Oktoberfest from mid-September to early October,” Iggers ended.