MANCHAC, La. — If you hop off of I-55 in Manchac, then you’ll find yourself at the front door of the historic restaurant, Middendorf’s.

“When you think about it, it’s actually a strange location. If you were to ask somebody to give you money to build a restaurant out in the swamp, and there is one exit and there’s only 10 people living here, they would say no,” says the owner, Horst Pfeifer.

With seafood on the menu, there is one item that stands a part from the rest.

“We are known for our world famous, thin-fried catfish. It’s been here for 85 years, and it is so unique,” says Horst.

The restaurant opened in 1934, and has been a famous stop for those traveling through southeast Louisiana.

“The customers who come in here and the people who work here, that is what Middendorf’s is. It’s not your normal restaurant feeling. I always told them it’s like a religious experience when you come here,” says Horst.

The staff is celebrating its 85th birthday by compiling items for a time capsule.

From menus, to current technology like cell phones, and even an old bottle of wine from the year it opened, this time capsule will have an assortment of items to help tell the restaurant’s story.

You, too, can be a part of history by simply eating there.

Right now, if you sign their guest book with your name, location, and how many years you’ve been visiting the restaurant, then those pages will go into the time capsule as well.

After it’s locked up, it won’t be buried like most.

It will be on display for customers to see inside of the restaurant until the 150th anniversary in the year 2084.

“Hopefully we will still be here. So, in 65 years, we are going to open it together and then look at it again,” says Horst.

Middendorf’s is not only creating a time capsule, but also opening a new location in Slidell.

The grand opening for that will be on the 4th of July this year.