- The Rathskeller Bier Haus will be reopening on January 10th.
- Local residents were initially upset, fearing the restaurant would close permanently.
- Concerns were raised about the building being torn down by UNMC, however the school said they had no plans to do so.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In 2023 the Rathskeller Bier Haus announced they'd be temporarily closing and after a year of locked doors some patrons feared they'd never reopen.
The former owners told KMTV in August they hoped to sell the business and that they'd have some "positive news soon."
Well that news is here, Zach Kirkpatrick and his family bought the restaurant. He told KMTV the menu will be improved and they're preparing for a grand reopening on January 10th.
"We always liked how the place felt, felt very warm and inviting. And so we wanted to keep that. So when we saw that it came up for sale, it, it was kind of a no brainer for us," said Kirkpatrick.
Up the street three regulars Cece, Reed and Connor Sleper told KMTV they love walking with their parents to the restaurant, and their dad's band has even preformed there.
"That like you can play around and there can even like, there's a spot where like bands can play and stuff and there's like a dance floor," said R Sleper.
Kirkpatrick is a lover of beer and food, he says it's a life long dream to own a restaurant and appreciates the overwhelming amount of support from the neighborhood.
"Working with UNMC, first of all, as, as the, the property owners have been great. The community support has been phenomenal," said Kirkpatrick.
It's no secret the restaurant has German themes from beer to food. Kirkpatrick says his family will be honing in on that and in the future patrons can expect more German festivals, Kirkpatrick says they're planning one for March 2025.
"We're working on our Schnitzel and our spatel right now, a different varieties of brats, different size of pretzels, different types of pretzels as well as different schnitzel sandwiches and then a few different styles of German beer," said Kirkpatrick.
Though the Rathskeller is under new ownership, Kirkpatrick says the warm welcoming environment will remain the same.
