Hofbräuhaus Addison opening delayed, new location revealed

Welcome to our weekly WTF column. In this series, we take questions from the audience: burning things you need to know about Dallas. This week, our question came from the inside. Our own news reporter who moonlights in food, wanted to know what happened to the Addison Hofbräuhaus location that was announced in April of this year. Here’s what Austin found out. If you’ve got a question, let’s hear it.

The opening date for Hofbräuhaus’s first Texas location in Addison has been prost-sponed, but we’ve got a location.

When it was announced in April that Hofbräuhaus, a historic Munich brewery and beer hall dating back to the 16th century, would open in Addison this fall, the news was met with a fair deal of excitement. The opening timeline would have let North Texans sit down at feast tables and sip beer from an institution founded by Bavarian royalty just in time for Oktoberfest, but like far too many anticipated openings, delays mean that won’t happen this year.

The concept will be operated as a franchise with a local owner, as with Hofbrauhaus’ other six U.S. beer pubs. In our case, it’s brothers Skip and Taylor Howard. Taylor told the Observer that permitting and planning delays have pushed the opening date to late winter or early spring 2027.

“There’s just so many moving parts, and you get one little thing, and then you need five people to sign off on it,” Howard says.

An employee with the Addison permit office confirmed that the proposal is in the zoning phase, as the owners have applied for a special use permit, which Taylor says will be needed for exterior modifications. No public hearing date has been set, so the process could take even longer.

Howard says that they plan to move through construction quickly to meet his hoped-for timeline. He also offered up a location — maybe as a consolation prize. Hofbräuhaus will open at The Village on Parkway just east of the Dallas North Tollway in Addison, a polished shopping center it will share with Neighborhood Services and Gloria’s Latin Cuisine. The indoor and outdoor biergarten will collectively cover a little more than 10,000 square feet.

Howard and his brother studied in Austria in college, which is where they got a taste of the local beer culture and made a trip or two to the original Munich Staatliches Hofbräuhaus. He says the space should reflect that atmosphere.

“The idea is that it takes you to Germany, takes you out of the grind of your Dallas daily workday, and just transports you to a place to escape at home, have a good time for a while,” Howard says.

What to expect

Inside, an approximately 5,000 -square-foot space will host cafeteria-style wooden tables, though they won’t have the traditional benches associated with Munich beer halls; instead, they’ll feature single seats. Decor is expected to have a mostly traditional feel, with a large performance stage planned inside, Howard said.

Outside, an authentic white gravel biergarten shaded by trees will also have a stage for live music, with genres ranging from folksy German polka anthems to live DJ sets. Howard says the music will be crucial to creating a real Oktoberfest experience for customers.

“What typically happens is people are standing on the benches singing along with the band or the DJ or whomever it is and just a real lively attitude after dinner,” he says.

As with the interior, the biergarten will have a full bar, Howard said, offering Champagne and spirits. But, of course, Hofbräu’s world-famous brews will star.

Stein-sclusive

Howard says his time in Europe opened his eyes to how “purer and cleaner” German beer is, adding that “you didn’t have the headache in the morning.” Let’s hope so, because from the sound of it, a lot will be drunk at Hofbrauhaus Addison.

The new spot will import its beer directly from Munich, where brewers have produced some of the highest-quality lagers and wheat beers in Germany since 1589. Howard says the traditional Hofbrau lager and wheat beers will remain a consistent presence, with seasonal specials like festbiers making rotating appearances to round out a six-tap offering.

Most beers — aside from wheat beers, which are served in a fluted glass — will come in dimpled glass Hofbrau steins. But his biggest news on that front is that Hofbrauhaus Addison plans to launch its own stein club, where members can buy their own authentic pottery or earthenware steins for deposit in one of the concept’s lockers. After that, they can refill their stein each visit at a discounted rate, he says.

‘Working as hard as we can’

The process has been frustrating, Howard says, although he also added that so is probably “anything worth doing.” Hofbrauhaus missed Addison Oktoberfest this year and has a ways to go before opening, but he says “we’re still right on track and very excited.”

Announcement

“I’m more excited than anyone,” Howard says. “I can’t wait for this to be open, and we can all have a liter of beer and enjoy the company. So we’re working as hard as we can to bring that ranch to fruition.”