The Oktoberfest party is off. But boots full of beer are so on at this German restaurant

Because of COVID-19, Prost owners Manu and Austin English aren’t able to throw their planned Oktoberfest party — a big four-day event that drew rowdy crowds for the first installment in 2019.

But that doesn’t mean their customers can’t swill German beer by the liter from boot-shaped steins.

The Englishes have come up with a more pandemic-friendly way to celebrate Oktoberfest in 2020, and those who participate in the month-long event will own a collection of four one-liter beer steins when it’s all over.

It starts on Sept. 15, when Prost — 2721 E. Central — will introduce the first of four giant steins it acquired for the event. People who want to participate will pay $40 to get the stein filled with a liter of Weihenstephaner festbier and keep the glass when they’re done. (The first stein in the series is a glass boot, a German drinking tradition.)

Those who pay the $40 will also get a special German appetizer that isn’t found on the regular menu.

Prost has 200 of each of the four steins, and the deal will be available until Sept. 20 or whenever the glass supply runs out.

The next stein will be introduced the following Tuesday, Sept. 22, and will be filled with a different beer. Same goes for Tuesday, Sept. 29 and Tuesday, Oct. 6. Each week, a different German beer will be served

Participants will get punch cards, and each week, those who participated will be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card to Prost. Anyone who collects all four steins will be in a drawing for a $100 gift card.

Manu, who grew up in Germany and heads the Prost kitchen, said she’ll also make dinner specials each week, and on Friday and Saturday nights, the restaurant will have accordion-heavy live German music on the patio. There will also be bar games, and Prost’s sister business, Ze German Markt, will be open selling all things Oktoberfest.

It won’t be as raucous as last year, Austin said, but the event will be fun, masked and socially distanced. And when they’re done, customers will have all the glassware they’ll need to celebrate Oktoberfest-style at home.

“You’ll have a little collection of your own at the end of this,” he said.

Prost’s hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 5:01 AM.

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6327

Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.