Mogger and Bleemel Brewing

Mogger’s Restaurant, located on North Poplar Street, unites two Terre Haute brewing families: Mogger and Bleemel. The restaurant is named for the Mogger family, and its location is in the Bleemel Building.

Marthias Mogger, namesake of the restaurant, was a German immigrant. In 1848, Mogger bought the Terre Haute Brewery, and renamed it M. Mogger Brewing. He located his company at 906 North Poplar Street. In 1868 he purchased land on the south side of the street, built a new brewery and moved his entire operation to the new location.

The same year, Ernest Bleemel - namesake of the Bleemel Building - bought the old brewery at 906 North Poplar Street. He began a competitive brewery operation across the street from Marthias Mogger.

After Mogger died in 1875, Anton Mayer – his brother-in-law– expanded the M. Mogger Brewery. Bleemel could no longer financially compete, so he stopped brewery operations. He changed his business tactic from competition to supplier. He made a lucrative profit by selling grain to M. Mogger’s Brewery.

When Anton Mayer retired in 1889, he sold M. Mogger Brewery to the Terre Haute Brewing Company. Dependant on a positive relationship with a brewery, the Bleemel family decided to lease their building to the Terre Haute Brewing Company. This gave the new brewery room to expand on either side of Poplar Street.

Terre Haute Brewing Company made the most of their large location. By 1893, it was the 7^th largest brewery in the nation. Sadly, the golden age of brewing was short-lived. By 1958, the Terre Haute Brewing Company was closed for good.