Is Lexington’s only German restaurant & beer hall with volleyball courts closing?
Another big change could be coming to Southland Drive’s dining scene.
A unique restaurant and bar is for sale after 33 years and the potential new owners may want to go in a different direction.
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Marikka’s Restaurant & Bier Stube, known for its authentic German food, beer garden and volleyball courts, is for sale.
Doug Tackett Sr., who owns Marikka’s with his wife, Marikka, and their son Doug Tackett Jr., said Friday they both are ready to retire.
“We’re both retiring, being doing it for 33 years, I’m over 70, he’s over 50. We’ve had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people ... had a great run, but it’s time,” Tackett Sr. said.
The restaurant at 411 Southland Dr., is listed for $10.7 million. That includes 10,000 square feet of beer hall, the restaurant, three indoor volleyball courts and three outdoor courts, pool tables, games and more.
Rumors have been flying online that Marikka’s could close, but Tackett said that isn’t the case.
He said he’s in talks with five potential buyers, including two parties interested in keeping the complex the way it is.
“It does a hell of a business,” Tackett said. “We’re doing fine, we went way back up after COVID.”
He said a sale is expected to take place later this year.
“Nothing’s in a hurry. We’ll announce our last day,” he said. “We want to say thank you to everyone.”
The situation is similar to that of longtime pizza place Joe Bologna’s, where the owner is hoping to sell his restaurant after 51 years.
Tackett said his family doesn’t really like change and has had the same owners and cooks from the beginning of the business.
The restaurant opened in March 1991 in a former Sir Pizza featuring a menu of family recipes from German native Marikka Tackett. While stationed in Germany with the Army, Doug Tackett Sr., had developed a taste for German beer and decided to focus on imports and sports at his new bierstube.
A volleyball net went up out back just to give patrons something to do at night. The Tacketts realized there was big demand for the volleyball court, which was kept busy for years by local leagues.
In January 2017, they launched an expansion and tore down the old building. A much larger $6 million building opened in 2018, with more volleyball, an enormous beer hall, games and even an in-house brewery.
Through it all, Marikka’s restaurant served German favorites including pretzels, potato pancakes, wurst and weinerschnitzel as well as about 1,000 different beers, including imports.
The news about Marikka’s comes as the Southland Drive corridor has been seeing a wave of changes:
The Ketch, another longtime restaurant, sold last year and has been closed for remodeling;
Sav-A-Lot, known for some of the best fried chicken in Lexington, closed in 2020 and reopened as a new and expanded Critchfield’s;
Caramanda’s Bakery left in 2022 for the former Critchfield spot on Nicholasville Road;
Taco Tico closed last September and is being converted into a bank;
LaRosa’s Pizzeria, which was carryout only, also closed last year.
But lots of small businesses and dining fixtures on the bustling corridor remain, including Good Foods Co-op, Southland Lanes bowling alley, Winchell’s, South of Wrigley and many more.
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