Once upon a time, royalty could do what it liked. Duke Wilhelm V did not like Bavaria’s home brews, so he created his own royal brewery in 1589 and named it ..
. hofbrau (translates to court brew). Hofbrau transitioned from a business meant just for the royals into a convivial eating and drinking spot for us common folks — call it a restaurant, carvery, tavern, lounge, whatever.
Waterloo Region has had several hofbraus but, to my knowledge, no kings or dukes. Let`s track the word: Waterloo’s Kuntz Brewery was the Twin Cities’ pre-eminent brewery. In the early 1900s, the hyphenated Hof-Brau caught lager lovers’ taste buds.
The line “For Family Use” has likely never appeared in beer advertising since then. FLASH FROM THE PAST Late June 1970 was a big day in St. Agatha.
Fred and Elfi Geimer gave the Prince of Wales Hotel a whole new identity as the “First Country Hofbrau.” The owners tailored the traditional German hofbrau ambiance into a Waterloo County country vibe. That Walper Hotel Hofbrau Room mentioned earlier remained after Kitchener’s Centennial and soon became a preferred city meeting and eating spot .
.. at first just for men.
The entrance sign once read “Businessman’s Lunch: Men Only.” A late May 1972 “invasion” by several downtown female workers wrote finis to that. On the first attempt, they sat politely, were ignored and not served.
The next attempt had more determination plus media attention. However, the sign had disappeared along with.