Gerst Haus — 25 Years of Bavarian Beer, and the Homepage Says “0 Beers on Tap”

The Business

Gerst Haus Evansville has been Evansville's German beer hall since 1999. Owners Jim and Jerry Chandler built the Franklin Street institution around the authentic Bavarian experience: giant frozen fishbowls of Gerst Amber, wiener schnitzel and bratwurst, a pet-friendly patio, and the largest craft and draft beer selection in the Tri-State. Over 25 years, they've earned Evansville's #1 local restaurant title ten consecutive times from News 4U Magazine, appeared regularly in Evansville Living's Readers' Favorite rankings, and in 2024 earned a shout-out from actor John Schneider on his social media. The place has real gravity — and earned every bit of it.

The Problem

The Gerst Haus website has one job: tell people to come in. It's failing at the most basic level.

The homepage features an animated counter widget meant to display a live beer count — the kind of hook that says 50 beers on tap, come check them out. But the widget has stopped working. Right now, on their homepage, it reads: 0 Beers on Tap. At a German beer hall. The centerpiece of their identity. The thing they're most proud of. Zero.

It doesn't stop there. The “Learn About Our History” link in the footer — the one that tells visitors about William Gerst's Bavarian roots, the 1890 Nashville brewery, the 1910 Kentucky Derby winner named Donau — returns a 404 error. The history that makes this place special is actively broken.

The Specials & Events page, which should be a weekly traffic driver, tells visitors to “check us out on Facebook.” No specials listed. No events posted. The menu URL is /menu2/ — a developer leftover. The menu itself is image files, invisible to Google. The contact page uses a 2012-era CAPTCHA plugin that breaks on mobile. There's no reservation system, no email signup, no OpenGraph previews.

Meanwhile, their “Voted #1 local restaurant 10 years in a row” accolade is buried on a subpage — not the homepage where it would win walk-ins. The Gerst Haus reputation is real. The website doesn't know it.

What We'd Build

Our spec redesign starts by fixing the most embarrassing problem first: the beer counter. We'd replace the broken widget with a live Untappd integration — a real-time tap count in the navigation bar that updates automatically. Instead of “0 Beers on Tap,” visitors would see “52 Beers on Tap” the moment they land.

The Impact

Gerst Haus already has the reputation. A website that works as hard as their kitchen would capture more of it. Live beer counts give craft beer fans a reason to check in before deciding where to go tonight. A functioning History page converts curious visitors into loyal regulars who feel connected to the story. Weekly specials via email create repeat visit cadence. Online reservations mean covers they aren't losing to the friction of a phone call during a busy service.

This isn't a rebrand. It's a website that finally reflects 25 years of work — and stops turning away the customers that work already earned.

The Pitch

Pitchcraft Agency builds spec redesigns for local businesses with websites that don't match the quality of their work. We spotted Gerst Haus, built the concept, and we're ready to deliver. Our offer: a full website redesign, ongoing management, and marketing support packaged as a $799/month retainer. No multi-month proposals, no vague timelines — just a modern site that drives covers and showcases what makes Gerst Haus Evansville's best.