Richard Gnauck was born in Mannheim, Germany in 1946, where his parents worked in the hospitality business. Upon the completion of his schooling he worked in several large hotels in Mannheim, Berlin, and Cologne. In 1968, Richard left Germany to work at the Hofbrauhaus Restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine. In 1969, he met his wife, Dottie,
and after a short stint in Florida, they returned to Maine where Richard began working at the Harriot Beecher Stowe House in Brunswick. In 1988 Richard his own restaurant in a former one-room schoolhouse in Harpswell, and in 1993 moved the restaurant to its current
location in the former Bowdoin Hotel on Maine Street in Brunswick. In true German tradition, Richard apprenticed his own sons, Wil and Erik, teaching them the art of fine cuisine. His third son, Karl, spent nearly a decade in Germany apprenticing as a brewer. The Gnaucks hope to someday open a microbrewery and offer hand-crafted b**r with their authentic German fare,
and thus complete Richard's dream of owning a family business that celebrates the culture of his homeland.
