Hofbräu Brauerei plans  to open a branch in New York next year. A contract should be signed by summer, after which the Munich brewery will build a miniature version of the famous beer hall, with space for 150 to 200 guests.

“Once the negotiations are completed, we’ll need about six to nine months until opening,” brewery director Michael  Möller said.

The Manhattan Hofbräuhaus isn’t the first to reach US shores. The brewery established its first US watering hole in 2003 in Newport, KY. There are also branches in Las Vegas and Pittsburgh, as well as six other beer halls in the US, Dubai, China and elsewhere.

Möller said he had hoped to open a larger beer hall in New York with place for up to 500 drinkers, but high real estate prices in the city would make the project too expensive.

The Munich Hofbräuhaus was the original home of the Hofbräu brewery when it was founded in 1589. The name Hofbräu means “Court Brew” in German, reflecting the brewery’s role of supplying the Bavarian royal family with beer.

The search for a Manhattan site began years ago, but never materialized because of skyrocketing real estate prices. Falling occupancy rates for commercial real estate due to the recession has been a key reason for the plan to go ahead, real estate expert said in New York. 

Meanwhile smaller German-style beergardens have been in business in New York for years. The oldest one,  Old Heidelberg, is one of the few German establishments left in Manhattan's Yorkville section, once the center of German life. Others include Zum Schneider and Loreley, both located on the lower East Side.  

It would not be a first for Hofbräu in Manhattan. A replica was opened in 1902 but fell victim to prohibition in 1923.

The oldest Hofbräuhaus outside Bavaria stands in Dubai. It opened in 1998,  but only foreigners are allowed in due to the emirate's ban on the sale of alcohol.

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