Home of the World-Famous Original Thin Fried Catfish®
Home of the World-Famous Original Thin Fried Catfish®
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. 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 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.
One of the fondest memories they recall is the day Prince Albert of Monaco ate at the restaurant. It is said that this was almost as exciting as when Eli, Peyton and the Manning parents were found dining at the 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 famous, this energetic husband-wife team are always looking for fun and exciting things to add to the Middendorf 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. Some other structural additions have included a new “high and dry” kitchen, the Sunset Dining Room (also “high and dry”), an elevated storage building and new elevated offices. In 2016, they completed Operation: High & Dry by raising the original side of the building. Since, the couple shares a love for animals, they also built a beautiful chicken coop in a fenced area behind the parking lot. The area has a small pond and lots of room for our feathered friends to run. At times, it has also been home to ducks, geese and even turkeys.
2019 was a big year for Middendorf’s. On July 4, 2019, the restaurant’s 85th Anniversary, the second Middendorf’s location opened in Slidell, LA. Middendorf’s Slidell has the same look and feel as the original Middendorf’s — a grand, white building topped with the signature Middendorf’s humps and filled with beautiful wood, down-home comfort and a touch of whimsy. Venture outside, and you’ll find an open-air porch overlooking an inviting sand/play area for the kids with fountains, palm trees and tiki huts. Eventually, there will be a pond out there too.
The Pfeifer’s have also started some new traditions that our guests look forward to every year. In September, it’s Fettuccine Frenzy every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The paper-thin fettuccine is handmade by Chef Horst Pfeifer, and it’s the same fettuccine that was served at Bella Luna. In Oktober, our Oktoberfest celebration kicks off with authentic German dishes, also prepared by Chef Horst Pfeifer who grew up in Germany. Oktoberfest runs every Wednesday and Thursday for 6 weeks. Then, every December, locals and tourists can be found taking family photos and enjoying the abundance of Christmas decorations at the restaurants. And, who could forget the Middendorf’s Express G model train. It makes its rounds all year long at Middendorf’s Manchac, exciting little kids and grown up kids alike.
Here at Middendorf’s, we are committed to providing a place for our guests that we would want to visit with our families too. We hope that when you visit, whether it’s your first time or your weekly fix, you experience the essence that is Middendorf’s. Our goal is to have you leave with a full belly and the memory of a great time. Most of all, we want you to come back and experience it again and again! We would be honored for you to be part of our history, part of the Middendorf’s family.
2019 marked the 85th Anniversary of Middendorf’s. To mark the big occasion, we installed a time capsule at Middendorf’s Manchac to be opened on May 16, 2084.
The time capsule, located on the ramp behind the hostess stand, contains memories and memorabilia from Middendorf’s and today’s world. What will the future be like? In 2084, will we still have hashtags (#dorfer4life), smartphones (with Middendorf’s on speed dial) or laminated menus (most of you know what you’re ordering before you get here anyway)? The current stewards of Middendorf’s won’t be around to see the year 2084. Our hope is that the young Dorfers of today will come back to open the time capsule to discover the history inside and share their own memories made with loved ones and thin fried catfish. Life is celebrated at Middendorf’s.
A chef, a European Master Chef, is a big title that not everyone can put behind their name. Horst Pfeifer, talented and overly energetic, is the man behind the title. He started his culinary education at 15 years old, set his goals and at 28 years old, opened Bella Luna in the New Orleans French Quarter in October 1991.
A native of Germany, Chef Pfeifer and his wife, Karen, have worked together as a team since 1987. As Karen puts it though, Horst is the driving energy, the creative and motivator of their world. Although, as any smart person knows, no man can do it alone. Karen is an integral part of the business, supporting and working to make all Horst’s ideas become reality. “I am not the type to step to the ledge, but once the decision is made, I am totally excited and thrilled to take the challenge and see it through,” says Karen.
Chef Pfeifer seeks out a challenge, must stay busy and loves taking care of people. His charming personality is perfect for the hospitality industry. He thinks before you ask, provides before you need, and the package he offers the guest is complete. His family was not in the hospitality business, but it seems to be in his blood. As he says, “Owning a restaurant is not only about cooking, it is a very high maintenance business. You have to have a flexible and very open mind when serving the public and your employees.”
His next big challenge arrived in the form of a hurricane named KATRINA on August 29, 2005. Bella Luna was closed, but Horst didn’t let that get him down. Just 7 days after Katrina made landfall, Horst was busy preparing meals at the Foundry (his events venue in the New Orleans Warehouse District). He fed 1,500 people every day to help with the disaster relief effort. Later in November of 2005, as recovery and clean up were just getting underway in the city, Horst prepared 12,000 meals for the people of New Orleans for Thanksgiving. Since Bella Luna did not reopen, Horst was on the hunt for a new challenge. He never dreamed that he would go from fine dining in the French Quarter to “Thin Fried Catfish” in the swamp! A year and a half after Katrina, on April 2, 2007, Horst and Karen bought the iconic Middendorf’s. Since then, it has been a wild ride in Manchac!
The first year, the battle was just being the new guy in town. Taking over a restaurant that has been family owned for over 70 years is never easy. Year two, 2008 brought Hurricane Ike which flooded the restaurant. The original building’s dining rooms and kitchen had to be completely renovated. In 2009, the original building was reopened with the new “high and dry” kitchen built 6 feet off the ground to avoid losing it to another flood. Chef Pfeifer also added waterfront dining on the Deck in 2009 along with an additional dining room attached to the restaurant also “high and dry”. But wait, we’re not done with flooding, in 2012, Isaac brought the most damaging flood that Manchac had seen in decades. Both the kitchen and the new dining room were indeed “high and dry” but everything else was underwater. After cleaning out the freezers and walk in coolers and throwing away shrimp, crabs, flounder and catfish for the last time, the next building to be raised, this time 10 feet off the ground, was the dry storage, coolers and freezers. In 2016, the “high & dry” project was officially completed with the raising of the lower half of the restaurant. Middendorf’s is now fully “high & dry.”
“I wouldn’t be here without the support of the local community, my seafood providers, my vendors who have always been there and our very loyal customers,” says Chef Pfeifer. “And I am very excited to be working closely with the U.S. Catfish farmers to keep the Louisiana icon that is Middendorf’s alive and growing strong at over 80 years.”
In 2019, Pfeifer began a new chapter in Middendorf’s history — opening a second location in Slidell, LA. It officially opened on the restaurant’s 85th birthday, July 4, 2019.
Did you know that before Middendorf’s, Horst and Karen Pfeifer owned a fine dining restaurant in the French Quarter?
The restaurant was called Bella Luna, and it had beautiful dining rooms with great views of the city and the Mississippi river. Many proposals were made there due to the romantic look and feel of the restaurant. And, Horst was able to show off his skills as a European Master Chef with menu items such as Pecan Crusted Oysters with Wasabi Aioli and Smoked Salmon on Cucumber with Crème Fraîche and American Choupic Caviar. He added freshness to his dishes with herbs and vegetables grown in his garden at the nearby Ursulines Convent.
Unfortunately, the good times came to an end at Bella Luna when it was forced to close its doors due to Hurricane Katrina. However, the memory of Bella Luna lives on here at Middendorf’s through our “Fettuccine Frenzy.” Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in September, we feature handmade, paper-thin fettuccine on our menu. It’s the very same fettuccine that was so popular at Bella Luna. We love this silky pasta and the nostalgic feeling that it brings.
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