Maders Restaurant
Maders Restaurant is a family-owned, 120-year-old authentic Bavarian German restaurant in Milwaukee's Deer District adjacent to Fiserv Forum, serving traditional German cuisine, cocktails, and private events to diners, corporate clients, and wedding parties.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1902
- HeadquartersMilwaukee, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Maders Restaurant does
Maders Restaurant, founded in 1902 by Bavarian immigrant Charles Mader and family-operated for over 120 years, is an authentic Bavarian German restaurant located at 1041 N Old World 3rd St in downtown Milwaukee's Deer District, adjacent to the Fiserv Forum. The single-location business operates across lunch, dinner, Sunday Viennese Brunch, and a historic Knights Bar lounge, featuring signature dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel, Rheinischer Sauerbraten, Pork Shank, Count Esterhazy Schnitzel, and a 120-year-old Old Fashioned cocktail recipe, alongside 10 standard German beers on tap. The platform is anchored by a distinctive turreted Germanic facade (architect William J. Ames, 1950-51) and a $3 million art collection that includes suits of medieval armor, vintage chandeliers, and ceramic beer steins.
The business is structured as a core dine-in service plus ancillary modules: private dining rooms (Baron's Rhine Stube, Burg Halle), a catering business added in 1996, an outdoor German Beer Garden with arena views, a Shopify-powered merchandise shop (apparel, Hummel collectibles, limited-edition hand-painted steins), and a Heartland-processed gift card program. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via walk-in traffic, Resy-integrated online reservations, earned media coverage (Washington Post, Food Network/Rachael Ray, Midwest Magazine), TripAdvisor reviews, and email club promotions. Customer segments span individual diners seeking authentic German cuisine, corporate and wedding private-event organizers, and retail merchandise buyers, with the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum event traffic providing structural demand spikes. Pricing is not publicly disclosed for menu items; merchandise unit pricing is transparent ($6 pretzel necklaces to $265 limited-edition steins).
Maders Restaurant firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Maders Restaurant
- Legal name
- Maders Restaurant
- Website
- https://madersrestaurant.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1902
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Maders Restaurant is a family-owned, 120-year-old authentic Bavarian German restaurant in Milwaukee's Deer District adjacent to Fiserv Forum, serving traditional German cuisine, cocktails, and private events to diners, corporate clients, and wedding parties.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Maders Restaurant industry classification
Industry- Product category
- German Restaurant / Authentic Bavarian Dining
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Caterers (722320)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)
Keywords
Where Maders Restaurant is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milwaukee
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Maders Restaurant business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Restaurant Dining: In-person dining revenue from lunch, dinner, and brunch service across multiple menus including Bavarian specialties, German favorites, seafood, and children's options
- Knights Bar Cocktails and Beverages: Specialty cocktails including the 120-year Old Fashioned, German beer on tap (10 standard German beers), schnapps, wine, and seasonal drinks
- Private Dining and Catering: Room reservations for corporate events, weddings, and special occasions with in-house banquet menu and off-site catering options
- Retail Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, hats, pretzel necklaces, beer steins, and collectible Hummel figurines. Features limited edition hand-painted German steins
- Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards sold through external Heartland payment platform
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Retail merchandise with varying price points |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Private dining event pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
Maders Restaurant product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Maders Restaurant is a family-owned authentic Bavarian German restaurant operating since 1902 in downtown Milwaukee, serving lunch, dinner, brunch, and bar service featuring signature German dishes (Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, Pork Shank), 10 standard German draught beers, and a historic Knights Bar. The restaurant complements dine-in service with private dining rooms for events, in-house and off-site catering, an online merchandise shop, and gift card sales.
Product overview
Mader's Restaurant is an authentic Bavarian German restaurant offering a comprehensive dining experience centered on Old World German cuisine. The core offering consists of lunch and dinner menus featuring signature dishes including Wiener Schnitzel, Rheinischer Sauerbraten, and the restaurant's most famous pork shank (Vince Lombardi's favorite), alongside a historic Knights Bar serving hand-muddled cocktails using a 120-year-old recipe. The restaurant operates on a platform-plus-modules architecture, combining its core dine-in services with ancillary offerings including a merchandise shop (apparel, collectible beer steins, pretzel necklaces), gift card program, private dining rooms (Baron's Rhine Stube, Burg Halle), catering services, and an outdoor German Beer Garden. Located in Milwaukee's Deer District adjacent to Fiserv Forum, the restaurant features a $3 million art collection, suits of medieval armor, and vintage chandeliers spanning its 120+ year history since founding in 1902.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Knights Bar: Historic bar featuring cocktails, German beers, and specialty drinks served in a setting adorned with knights of armor and antique chandeliers.
Products and services
- Mader's Restaurant Lunch Service
- Mader's Restaurant Dinner Service
- Knights Bar
- Private Dining Events
- Mader's Merchandise Shop
- Gift Cards
- Catering Services
- German Beer Garden (Outdoor Seating)
Quantifiable outcome
- Trip Advisor Award of Excellence
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Maders Restaurant
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Maders Restaurant technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Maders Restaurant partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ResycoreReservation platform integration allowing customers to book tables online through Resy website or app
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Maders Restaurant competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas: German beer hall and restaurant replicating the Munich original, with full-service German menu, beer steins, and themed atmosphere. Comparable to Maders as a German-themed full-service concept, though operating on a larger franchise scale rather than as a single family-owned icon.
- The Old German Beer Hall: Authentic German beer hall and restaurant in Milwaukee's Third Ward, serving German food, beer, and live music. Directly comparable to Maders as a Milwaukee-based German-themed full-service venue competing for the same local diner and tourist occasions.
- Bavarian Inn Restaurant: Multi-generational family-owned German restaurant in Frankenmuth, Michigan, with a heritage Bavarian theme, themed dining rooms, and integrated lodging/retail. Shares Maders' family-ownership heritage, German cuisine focus, and themed dining atmosphere as a midwestern German destination.
Others
- Milwaukee Brewing Company: Local Milwaukee craft brewery operating a brewpub in the Deer District near Fiserv Forum. Comparable to Maders as a Deer District F&B operator with German-leaning beer offerings, though operates a brewery-led model rather than a dining-led full-service restaurant.
- Usinger's: Iconic Milwaukee German sausage and food brand operating since 1880, with retail store and foodservice offerings. Comparable to Maders as a heritage Milwaukee German food brand with deep local roots, though operates in retail/foodservice rather than full-service dining.
Broad incumbents
- The Berghoff: Historic Chicago German restaurant brand operating since 1898, with associated retail products and catering. Comparable to Maders as a long-running German heritage restaurant in the Midwest with a deep history, though now operates more as a food brand and catering operation than a dining destination.
- Hofbräuhaus München: The original Munich beer hall dating to 1589, serving as the cultural archetype for all German-themed restaurants globally. Comparable to Maders as the canonical reference point for the German beer hall and cuisine experience that Maders' atmosphere and menu are designed to evoke.
Regional players
- Café Bavaria: German-themed restaurant concept with multiple U.S. locations focused on German cuisine and beer hall atmosphere. Comparable to Maders in cuisine and thematic positioning, though serves a broader geographic footprint rather than a single iconic landmark.
- Karl Ratzsch's Restaurant: Historic Milwaukee German restaurant that operated for over a century as a peer to Maders before closing. Included as a historical peer reference for what a comparable competing German heritage restaurant in the same Milwaukee market looked like; its closure underscores the structural challenges of single-location German restaurants in the region.
Emerging players
- Heinrich's German Restaurant: Independent German-themed restaurant operating in the Midwest with traditional German menu offerings. Comparable to Maders in cuisine focus and casual dining service model, though without the same depth of historic brand equity or art collection.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Maders Restaurant social profiles
Digital presenceMaders Restaurant financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Maders Restaurant leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Maders Restaurant funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Maders Restaurant M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Maders Restaurant
What does Maders Restaurant do?
Maders Restaurant is a family-owned authentic Bavarian German restaurant operating since 1902 in downtown Milwaukee, serving lunch, dinner, brunch, and bar service featuring signature German dishes (Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, Pork Shank), 10 standard German draught beers, and a historic Knights Bar. The restaurant complements dine-in service with private dining rooms for events, in-house and off-site catering, an online merchandise shop, and gift card sales.
Is Maders Restaurant a public or private company?
Maders Restaurant is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Maders Restaurant founded?
Maders Restaurant was founded in 1902. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Maders Restaurant based?
Maders Restaurant is headquartered in Milwaukee, United States, in the North America region.
How does Maders Restaurant make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Dining is the primary driver. The others are knights Bar Cocktails and Beverages, private Dining and Catering, retail Merchandise and gift Cards.
Who are Maders Restaurant's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas, The Old German Beer Hall and Bavarian Inn Restaurant. Others are Milwaukee Brewing Company and Usinger's. Broad incumbents are The Berghoff and Hofbräuhaus München. Regional players are Café Bavaria and Karl Ratzsch's Restaurant. Heinrich's German Restaurant is listed as an emerging player.
Does Maders Restaurant have an API?
No public API is recorded for Maders Restaurant.
What industry is Maders Restaurant in?
Maders Restaurant's product category is German Restaurant / Authentic Bavarian Dining. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAD, Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants, with a secondary code of THAFACAJ, All-Day Dining Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.