CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It took centuries for the general public to even be admitted to the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich. So what's a few days here or there of waiting when it comes to the opening of one in Cleveland?

Well, wait no more.

Hofbrauhaus Cleveland will open its doors Thursday. It will be followed by a keg tapping to mark the grand opening on Oct. 22 – complete with servers in dirndl and lederhosen outfits, German bands and party-hearty stein slamming.

The 24,000-square-foot, $8.4 million Bavarian-themed entertainment spot was initially scheduled to open in September, but was pushed back due to the enormity of the project.

Monday, the place was crawling with construction workers shoveling gravel and carrying boards.

Structurally, the place is ready to go. Even some of the small details are in order – like the immaculate flower boxes in front.

"Germans love their flower boxes," said marketing and sales manager Andrea Mueller, standing in the soon-to-be-beer garden. "Gotta have those up."

The beer garden looks good to go, adorned with rows of picnic tables to accommodate up to 1,000 patrons.

The magnitude of Hofbrauhaus Cleveland is mind-boggling – and not just because it runs counter to the prevailing smaller-is-better approach to bars, eateries and entertainment. The location has long been a dead zone in downtown nightlife, which is poised to suddenly become a hopping area.

Located on Chester Avenue between the theaters of Playhouse Square and the Greyhound Bus Station – a personal favorite building -- the Hofbrauhaus will include three floors and a number of rooms, the most prominent being the 450-seat beer hall and that beer garden. It will brew and sell Hofbrau beer starting in November.

"The aging process is three to five weeks," said brewmaster Josh Jones, in the brewing room, which features 15 tanks a room full of sacks of malt imported from Germany. "So until we can get it up and running, we're going to be getting our beer from Germany."

The beer list will represent German staples, which only use water, malt, hops and yeast, according to Bavarian purity laws.

After all, the original Hofbrauhaus in Bavaria was founded by the beer-guzzling Wilhelm V, in 1589.

The Cleveland Hofbrauhaus has required linking the new building with the Hermit Club. The 110-year old Tudor-style spot will be used as part of the Hofbrauhaus – including a beautiful performance room that will play host to 120-160 people.

It opens the little-known gem, a private club, to the general public. (Parts of the Hermit Club building will remain exclusive to Hermits; other parts are shared with Hofbrauhaus.)

The Hofbrauhaus has bigger ambitions: To open up and reinvigorate a part of town by attracting ethnics who left the city decades ago.

This Hofbrauhaus marks a reversal in a movement that was capped off with the death of the old Hofbrau Haus. The latter – a restaurant and gathering place on East 55th Street -- was a landmark for most of the 20th century.

"We're hoping to bring these people back to the city," says Mueller, a Cleveland native and German-American who grew up speaking German.

In Germany, everybody knows the Hofbrauhaus song. You know, "In Munchen steht ein Hofrauhaus, oans, zwoa, g'suffa!" ("There's a Hofbräuhaus in Munich—one, two, drunk!")

Imagine, soon enough, they might be singing it in this once-dead spot. OK, OK, make that, "In Cleveland steht ein Hofbrauhaus, oans, zwoa, g'suffa!"