Middendorf's - Manchac LA
Posted by: 
haole122
N 30° 17.359 W 090° 24.100
15R E 749915 N 3353704
30160 Hwy 51 S. - Akers (Manchac), LA 70421
Waymark Code: WMRX37
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 08/15/2016
Views: 1
"Middendorf's:Comfort, Consistency and 75 Years of Mama Josie's Recipes:
The story of Middendorf’s Restaurant, how it came to be and its continued success, is one of perseverance and determination. Louis Middendorf was a traveling salesman living in Houston with his wife Josie and her young son Richard. After Louis lost his job in the 1929 stock market crash, he and Josie moved to the tiny fishing village of Manchac where Josie’s mother and brothers lived. With the help of a $500.00 loan co-signed by a former Mayor of New Orleans, T. Semmes Walmsley, Louis and Josie opened their “cafe” in the summer of 1934. Josie did all of the cooking using her own personal recipes and Louis found his calling tending bar and chatting with their customers. Louis and Josie were the entire staff. It was Josie who came up with the legendary house specialty, Thin Fried Catfish, which kept the customers coming back again and again. The busy couple also ran the post office in Manchac."
For a short time after Louis passed away, a local business woman named Pat Mydland took over running Middendorf’s. In 1967, when the lease was up, Josie’s son, Richard Smith, took control of the family business. Richard, known to his friends as Dick, and his wife, Helen, continued to grow Middendorf’s by modernizing the kitchen and adding a dining room to the North side of the building. After I-10 opened from Metairie to LaPlace in 1970, business was really booming. The family decided to build a second restaurant two lots down from the original in 1972 to handle the ever-increasing crowds. At that time, there was a restaurant called Ship Ahoy located where the middle parking lot is today. Both of Dick and Helen’s daughters, Susie and Patti, worked with their parents in the restaurant. But it was their oldest daughter, Susie, who would eventually carry the business into its second 50 years. Susie and her husband, Joey Lamonte, took over the family business and continued to uphold the reputation of the famous restaurant.
After more than 40 years of working in the restaurant, with no family to hand the restaurant down to, Susie decided to sell the family business. In 2007, the restaurant was purchased from the family by Horst and Karen Pfeifer. Chef Pfeifer and his wife were well-known in New Orleans for their beautiful restaurant, Bella Luna, which was located in the French Quarter. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the area, Bella Luna was closed. So, they packed up the linen napkins and switched from fine dining in the city to Thin Fried Catfish in the swamp. Although they have not strayed from the recipes and specialities that made Middendorf’s famous, this energetic husband-wife team are always looking for fun and exciting things to add to the Middendorf’s experience. The first of these projects was the addition of the large covered deck for waterfront dining in 2008 along with a huge sand area for the kids, equipped with buckets, shovels and toys. It became immediately popular with guests of all ages.
The Pfeifer’s also started some new traditions that our guests look forward to every year. The amazing Oktoberfest celebration, which began in 2008, features authentic German dishes, prepared by Chef Horst Pfeifer himself, for 6 weeks starting every October. In 2009, the Middendorf’s Manchac Run started. Runners from far and wide compete in this annual race, which is held in November. Then, every December, locals and tourists can be found taking family photos and enjoying the Christmas Wonderland on the property. And, who could forget the Middendorf’s Express G model train. It makes its rounds all year long, exciting little kids and grown up kids alike. Another thing that the kids really enjoy is going to the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center, located in downtown Hammond, and “working or eating” at the mini Middendorf’s. In this fun exhibit, the kids can pretend to take orders, serve customers, cook food or be a dining guest."
source: middendorfsrestaurant.com/history
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log to this waymark you need to visit and write about the actual physical location. Any pictures you take at the location would be great, as well.