Tucson's long-delayed German restaurant to open June 5
Biergarten, a Bavarian-style restaurant on Tucson's west side, opens June 5 after more than a year of permitting delays. Grand opening festivities run through the evening.
After more than a year of permit fights, code violations and licensing delays, Biergarten is opening its doors.
Andre Linke, who moved his family from Germany to Tucson to open the Bavarian-style restaurant on the corner of Grant and Silverbell, will welcome his first customers June 5 at 1 p.m.
The grand opening will include live music, a raffle, cotton candy and free Jagermeister and Aperol Spritz from 5 to 7 p.m.
Reservations are available at biergarten-tucson.com.
Linke had hoped to open last fall, but a long-vacant building in poor condition, conflicting city requirements and repeated application rejections pushed the timeline back months.
The family spent thousands navigating architect requirements, health department approvals and licensing fees while their visa clock ticked.
"How long can we take this until we have to leave and go back to Germany?" Linke said earlier this month.
Quentin S. Agnello
The menu draws from traditional Bavarian cooking, with schnitzels served several ways or stuffed cordon bleu with black forest ham and Swiss cheese. Sausage options include bratwurst, beer brats and Nurnberger-style pork sausages, alongside German classics like sauerbraten, rouladen and gulasch.
Appetizers include fresh-baked pretzels with house-made mustard and obatzda, potato pancakes and baked brie. Desserts include housemade apple, cherry and blueberry strudel, Black Forest cake and bee sting cake.
The restaurant will be open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Linke has said he wants to keep prices accessible.
"We can't charge people thirty bucks for a schnitzel," he said, despite rising food supplier costs.
Caitlin Schmidt is Editor and Publisher of Tucson Spotlight. Contact her at caitlin@tucsonspotlight.org.
Tucson Spotlight is a community-based newsroom that provides paid opportunities for students and rising journalists in Southern Arizona. Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation.
