Cheese Cupboard & Hofbrauhaus

I will this this place dearly. One of my favorite places to visit during my work breaks or just to pick up some actual good beer to take home for the night. The people here are amazing and wonderful. All of the food was top tier and the stuff they sold downstairs was amazing to find as well. It makes me genuinely sad and upset that this place won't be here anymore. Now the celtic pub is the place to go for good beer and the pub is absolutely top tier, but for german specific beer and imports it was the only place to go. I hope the family and workers for here are doing great and I'll forever miss the best sauerkraut I've ever had in my life, and I've been to Germany. Love this place. Will miss it as long as I live here in gatlinburg

When we ate here it was good. Now it appears that this shop is closed for good. No tables, chairs, or open door. Repair work is ongoing but don't have any info as to if it's gonna reopen as before.

Please do not run a business that is not wheelchair accessible. I am an avid fan of German cuisine, but could not get in because of my wheelchair. Just pathetic, shameful, and unacceptable for the 21st century. Very disappointing.

What was once a hidden gem to The Village Shoppes in Gatlinburg has now become a distant memory. We arrived to an empty restaurant with tables that were uncleaned and no one attending to them. The sweet little old lady that used to work there kept a tightly run shop but it has now fallen to neglect. The condiment rack is no longer and the quality of the sandwiches is just not what it once was. When one takes pride in a business it makes a great impression. I hope one day that pride will be restored.

EDIT: Closed Permanently. Per the Donut Friar, the new owners apparently don't care much about keeping the magnificence of this establishment going and are eliminating the Hofbrauhaus. Rest in Peace, cornerstone of Gatlinburg history. What may appear as a simple Gatlinburg stop n' shop is truly a hidden gem. If I were to have one complaint, it would definitely be of how knowing this store is also a restaurant upstairs is hard to come by. The problem is, and you can call me greedy, if it were easy to find this magnificent location, I might have trouble getting a seat. I've been nearly religiously visiting this establishment every year on the same weekend for over 25 years it seems. It pairs almost perfectly with the Donut Friar next door. For years, I made the insane mistake of determining I did not care for reubens, based on experiences with establishments such as McAlister's Deli. I would have a Bratwurst or one of the other sandwiches and those were solid 4 to 5-star lunch items, depending on what you order. It wasn't until I broke down one day and had the Reuben, the thing they advertise as a specialty for over 51 years, where I came to realize the error of my ways. The people working here are pleasant, they sell good product, and yet somehow find the time to work in a 8x8 box making the best meat-based sandwich I've possibly ever had in my life. You can go to fancy restaurants and have ingredients even the best linguists fail to pronounce, and they will taste pretty good, maybe even delicious. Alternatively, you could go to a place so quaint as to have their sides be ruffles potato chips and a pickle slice, yet the actual entree is so good you couldn't care less The bottom line is you should absolutely find time to go here. It is CASH-ONLY business but, worth popping down to the ATM 100ft away to eat a not-so-secret delicacy. Give this famous 51-year old sandwich a go. You won't regret it.

Was looking forward to getting some nice cheese to sit down with before dinner, but they had a very very small selection, mostly cheddar. It's not worth going out of the way for a cheese shop, but we didn't try the restaurant, so I'll leave 3 stars bc that might be great?

Best Ruebens in the world. Been coming there since the 80s. Like most people we stumbled on it by accident. I understand the reviews about good service is not always available. The owners have gotten older and I wish they would share their Ruben secrets with other people, who could buy it and keep the tradition going. Because they literally are the best Reubens I’ve ever eaten in my life.

We’ve been coming to the haufbrauhaus since 2011, when my wife and I stumbled across it by accident on our honeymoon. It’s become our literal favorite place to eat. We’ve come every single year. Have told friends and family who have grown to love it the way we have. Every year the service has declined - and we are okay with it. The place is special and we over look the subtle rudeness. This year - maybe it’s just the week. But we’ve tried going three separate times and walked out each time, which is rare for us. First time was July 4th, the person at the cheese counter was extremely rude. Just figured it was the day - tons of people and a lot of stress, no biggie, we came back the next day. When we walked in, we were told “*she’s solo today so it’s only takeout” and we’re told it would be an hour. But that whole “it’s not what you say it’s how you say it?” The vibe was terrible. So again, we decided to leave and come back maybe when it was better. Showed up today, to grab take out - since we knew it was easier and an option. We walked in to someone who side eyed us, ignored for 5 minutes and when we asked if we could order takeout, said “she’s solo, so it’s dine in only today…” while glaring. So I stepped out to check if we could change our plans, decided to dine in and we had our senior parents walking from a couple blocks up. We said we would dine in, and order to give them time to make everything while they showed up in the next 15 mins. We were told “she won’t seat you until your party is on premise” which we get, but again, the tone, the absolute rudeness when I explained us ordering would give them time and we’d been there two separate times, we decided to leave. As we were leaving we could tell she thought twice bc she asked “so, 4 adults and a child to sit?” we said not anymore, no thanks - and left. Fully get busy season, the restaurant business and typical tourist bs. But the amount of times we tried coming, the rudeness and attitude each time, and constant excuses for why the special service had to be done…no thanks. 13 years - no more. Have photos from our honeymoon, every anniversary for 10 years. Our child’s first time. Huge bummer. Hope they sell the business before they kill it, to someone who wants to actually run it. Don’t even need to be nice or personable…simply “you want to patronize our business, okay” would suffice.

Service has gone way way down. Been going here since 1969. The owners now are very unpredictable. Yesterday we drove 35 miles to eat there to be told the cook had to go get supplies. They weren’t serving sandwiches. Went back today and we’re told they had no waiter so they were only doing take out. Sorry, their sandwiches just aren’t the same without a cold draft beer. Several people came in today and said they finally found the place and now they can’t eat upstairs. Great Rueben’s? When you can get one. Don’t go without calling first to make sure they are open! Won’t drive that far again!

Great German draft beer...and the pretzels are very good!!!