The Bavarian Soccer Club plans to purchase the Bavarian Inn property at 700 W. Lexington Blvd., Glendale.
The property is owned by Deutschesland Inc., a 501(c)(2) organization formed by the United German Societies. The loan on the property, provided by Mitchell Bank, is in foreclosure. A court hearing on the matter is scheduled for Thursday.
United German Societies was formed several years ago by five German cultural clubs, including the Bavarian Soccer Club.
The Bavarian Soccer Club hopes to purchase the Bavarian Inn property in a sheriff’s sale, or before the sheriff’s sale, said Robert Monnat, president of the soccer club’s board of directors. Monnat is also chief operating officer of Milwaukee-based Mandel Group Inc., which is not involved in a potential deal for the Bavarian Inn property.
The 15-acre Bavarian Inn property includes the 21,000-square-foot Bavarian Inn restaurant and banquet facility, three soccer fields and the Heidelberg Park festival grounds where Oktoberfest festivities are held each year.
Despite the popularity of the annual Oktoberfest celebration at Heidelberg Park, the Bavarian Inn’s has lost money because its restaurant and banquet business has struggled and it has an annual real estate tax burden of $135,000 to $145,000, Monnat said.
“The original intent of the set up of the property was that the Bavarian Inn restaurant and banquet business would produce enough operating income for the overall operations of the property,” Monnat said. “But the restaurant and banquet operations have fallen on hard times and have not made money for many years. It all caught up.”
The Bavarian Soccer Club has received commitments from several members to loan the club money to purchase the Bavarian Inn property, Monnat said.
“We have commitments from members for sufficient funds to make the purchase,” Monnat said.
The Bavarian Soccer Club wants to maintain the Bavarian Inn as a soccer facility and cultural destination, Monnat said.
“We have to come up with a viable business plan to make this a self-sustaining operation going forward,” he said. “It’s our intent to preserve the property, certainly for soccer, but hopefully to enhance it as a center not only for German culture, but for other central European cultures that are prominent in the Milwaukee area, but do not have a place to call their own.”
