A Revered Milwaukee Restaurant, Karl Ratzsch, Says Goodbye

I get that people have really intense nostalgia around a restaurant like this, and trying to operate what was essentially a new restaurant under a well known name was an uphill battle.

It's a shame, because I think German cuisine is underappreciated, and overdue for a reappraisal by American chefs. As someone with a spouse born and raised in Germany, we've been looking for something more like what Mr. Hauck was trying. American versions of German restaurants seem to be a mixed bag. Certainly Mader's is very good, but many other restaurants either do the same old, same old, or overpower every dish with kraut/gravy and call it authentic.

Ironic that a poster here speaks to the "Americanizing" of a menu. I've been to a number of German restaurants in the US with deep friend everything, including chicken wings. And I can tell you NO proper German rathskeller ever had chicken wings.

Indeed what Ratzsch's was will be missed. But it was a hard sell in a town that, based on these comments and others, is so clearly and intensely resistant to change or growth.

I remember dining at Ratzch's with my family as a child. It was probably the first time I'd eaten roast duck or bread pudding. Both delicious. There were several black and white photos on the wall, including one of my dad, Jon "Bingo" Berta (Milwaukee tavern owner), and his parents. It was probably taken in the '70s. We had reservations to go there when I'll be back in town later this month...I was looking forward to seeing if the photo was still there. Good memories.

I grew up going to Ratzsch's. I'm not going to mince words, this is sad. With all respect to Mr. Hauck, the changes were not to the good. The food and service were not up to the old standards, and the spartanizing of the decor seemed cheap. I think there were two options in saving Ratzsch's. One would have been to double down on what had worked. Mader's still packs them in. The other would have been to do more of a beer hall concept. If you wonder what that would have looked like, go to Munich. But the idea of Americanizing and spartanizing it while changing the recipes was not a good idea. I has the schnitzel before Christmas, and mine at home is better. I thank Chef Hauck for trying. Perhaps it was easier to let go seeing it fade for a year. Still, it's a sad event. As the article says, Mader's and Kegel's are both excellent. Come to Milwaukee and get the best German food this side of the pond.

Mr. Hauck could have saved himself some time and money by studying the fate of Luchow's here in NY. A dinner at the original place was always a special event, especially around the holidays. When it "simplified" itself and moved uptown into an office complex, it was a flop.

The trick is to modernize the menu, but still keep the surroundings and the tastes that make the place special. There are some modern Austrian-German restaurants that do this well, to the point where I could even detect some of my grandmother's seasonings in some dishes (and confirmed by the chef). And from what I read in The Times, traditional German cuisine is alive and well in Brooklyn. So why not Milwaukee?

Mr. Hauck took over a restaurant that may have been an institution forty or fifty years ago but had apparently been increasingly irrelevant and less profitable in more recent years. Mr. Hauck's approach might have been drastic; however, his renovations and menu changes were not the ultimate cause for Karl Ratsch's failure.

Restaurants like Ratsch's fail because they fail to constantly adapt to changing demographics, tastes and economic realities. They fail because they foolishly adhere to an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. If a chef/owner cannot look out onto a dining room floor and see a diverse and renewing clientele, his or her business is irreparably broken. This was Ratsch's fate. A similar fate awaits any restaurant that keeps the same unchanged decor and menu for decades.

RIP Karl Ratsch's. What a shame.

From reading comments here and the in the local Milwaukee media, I wonder how many of the dissenters actually went to the restaurant after Mr. Hauck made his changes? There were many traditional German dishes on the menu, and in the large portions that Milwaukeeans seem to still want. His restaurant c1880 is inventive and forward thinking and is probably not for everyone - but the touch that he put on Karl Ratsch (menu, interior design, re-use of existing old photographs and antiques) was incredibly respectful. As a lifelong Milwaukee resident, I'm sad the restaurant is gone, but also sad that a terrific local chef and business owner didn't get enough support.

Definitely a shame when you take something historic and try to "modernize" it. If people want lighter fare they would go elsewhere. Really rather ignorant to remove the interior decorations, table cloths and atmosphere. Apparently, they just didn't get it. Period- food or hospitality.

Sounds like your typical arrogant businessman. Take a formula that's worked for, what did they say, 113 years? and change it. "the bones of it were the same." "It wasn't cool enough." Just this kind of language shows he didn't have a clue what he had. Rather than using the concept - irreplaceable, by the way - and work within it, he had to blow it up. Fool. Nitwit. Thanks, Hauck. You have destroyed something very special. Are you now going to establish a new one that will last for 113 years? Hmmm?

I have been to Ratzsch's many times. I was looking forward to going there when I'm in MKE this summer. I am not amused.

Many years ago, when my wife and I lived in Northern Illinois, Karl Ratzsch was our favorite restaurant. We gladly drove 70 miles to dine there. More recently and until the traditional menu disappeared, we still made sure to visit Karl Ratzsch whenever we returned to the Chicago area to visit relatives. Now, it is gone and we will miss it. The other German restaurants mentioned in the article (Mader's and Kegel's) were never even close to as good. Fortunately, there is still a fine German restaurant that is close to where we live now, Old Heidleberg in Fort Lauderdale. It is not as good as Karl Ratzsch was but we prefer it to Mader's or Kegel's and it is 1400 miles closer to our present home!

Sad, sad news. I grew up going to Ratzsch's and will always remember the sauerbraten, stuffed pork chops, hot bacon dressing and the salty rye rolls. All good things come to an end, I guess.

Should have stayed with the traditional menu. I have so many fond memories of family celebrations there over the years.

The new owner stripped Karl Ratzsch's down to the bare minimum, made the experience much less special, and he's surprised it didn't go well? He ruined the restaurant in his effort to "take [it] into the future," as he's quoted elsewhere, and now it's lost. A huge shame.

Unfortunate. Paid to much for the restaurant and then had a menu that was far too expensive and took out the charm of the place. It became a place for tourists and their ilk - and they had no dedication or commitment to the place. Greed. Greed. Sad.