AKERS, La. – Akers is a tiny town located off Interstate-55, and its star attraction is Middendorf’s which is home to the original, world famous ‘thin fried catfish.’
It all began with Louis and Josie Middendorf. Louis lost his job in Houston in the stock market crash before The Great Depression, so they moved to the small fishing village of Manchac where Josie’s family lived.
Louis was a veteran of World War I, and that’s where the seed money for the roadside café came from.
“Every soldier got their $500 for fighting in the war. With this seed money, they opened Middendorf’s,” Horst Pfeifer said.
Middendorf's officially opened its doors on July 4, 1934. Louis tended the bar and made customers feel welcome, but it was Josie’s thin fried catfish that kept people coming back for more.
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Horst and Karen Pfeifer owned Bella Luna in the French Quarter, but it closed after Hurricane Katrina. They were looking for a new restaurant, but this time they had different priorities. It was around that time they learned from a friend that Middendorf’s was for sale.
“My wife said, 'if we start a restaurant again, I want something- not something new, I want to take something over. I want to have laminated menus, no tablecloths and I want to have a line at the door and enough parking,'” Horst said.
Middendorf’s checked all of those boxes, sot he couple went from fine dining to serving fish in the swamp. And they loved every minute of it.
Horst has added his own spin of course, but in the restaurants 85th year, most of the recipes are still Josie’s.
“Like we always say – don’t change what’s not broken. And we’re always adding to it," Horst said.
When school starts back up and things start to slow down, the couple has specials to keep people coming back. In September, its Fettucine Frenzy, Oktoberfest in October, the Manchac run in November and have a Christmas Wonderland in December.
“With a German name like Middendorf’s and me being German, I felt like we had to do it. That’s why we put our maypole out there.”
A maypole with a Louisiana-seafood twist. Horst says he’s not bored frying catfish in a tiny town. In fact, he says its more of a challenge, making sure a product that has been successful for 85 years remains consistent.