Village Brauhaus Brings Authentic German Cuisine To Old Town

This Patch article is sponsored by Village Brauhaus.

Village Brauhaus is a family-run, small business in the heart of Old Town located right on King Street. After a successful run in New York City, the restaurant decided to leave the Big Apple and bring authentic German and Austrian food and drink to Virginia. From Wienerschnitzel and sausages to German draft beers and apple strudel, their mission is to transport guests back to Europe!

Patch caught up with Bill and Chelsea Gross, owners of Village Brauhaus, to learn more about the unique eatery:

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?

Gross: We moved to Old Town in October of 2018, signed our lease, went back to NY to get married, had a quick honeymoon and now we are back to full time in Old Town. Between the new business, getting married and moving to a new state it was an extremely busy time but we are really glad to be here now!

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?

Gross: I have been in the hospitality industry since high school (2000). I worked in kitchens in Queens, New York, before attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. After receiving my degree, I went on to work in the back of the house at some of New York's finest kitchens. Working as a pastry chef at Le Cirque, Eleven Madison Park, Cafe Gray, Jacques Torres and others, I really was fortunate to develop a strong work ethic and drive for excellent food and service. After years in the kitchen I moved to the front of the house to have a well-rounded education in restaurant operations. After that I started my own hospitality consulting firm which I still practice to this day. I purchased my first restaurant with my partners in NY in 2015 and have since sold my shares there and am fully committed to Old Town. My wife, Chelsea, who studied sports management and marketing at St. John's University in NYC, held various front of the house positions while in school and afterward. We both try and bring our experiences together to hopefully provide a great dining experience!

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words, what would those words be?

Gross: Strive to provide and improve.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced in your job?

Gross: Restaurants always have challenges as there are so many moving parts. Running the back end for bookkeeping, permits, licenses, developing menus, labor rates, staffing, insurances, rent, taxes, legalities, marketing, etc. are all things that we have to tackle each and every day. All while striving to provide excellent service to our guests. The fact is that myself and other small businesses are human enterprises and are unfortunately subject to the occasional error. Sometimes an improperly cooked dish, a miscommunication with a guest, busy wait times or noise from high volume, etc. can be a bit off-putting, but at the end of the day we are all trying to accomplish the same thing: put out great food, tasty drinks and wonderful service.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Gross: The most satisfying part of my job is being able to contribute to the community. Whether it's providing jobs, using local vendors as partners, such as Bread and Water (monkey bread and stuffed pretzels) or Little Austria (authentic Austrian strudel), we get to give back. We are actually in development for a new program where we will be doing a "Pretzels for Paws." Our giant pretzels that we import from Bavaria are one of our top sellers and we look forward to developing that program which will essentially use generated revenue to give back to a shelter. We are still finalizing the details but we will have something rolled out soon! We are very excited.

Patch: How would you say your business distinguishes itself from the others?

Gross: We distinguish ourselves through our decor and ambiance, as well as our menus. Growing up in a proud Austrian and German household, I have been fortunate to collect some really cool decor pieces over the years and I get to share some of them with our guests here at Village Brauhaus. We pride ourselves on the fact that when you walk in, you hear the German music, see the Bavarian blue and white, you are instantly finding yourself in one of the large beer tents in Munich! The authenticity of ambiance, food and drink is something we aim for on a daily basis.

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Gross: The best piece of advice I've ever received was actually a quote from billionaire businessman Sumner Redstone who said, "Great success is built on failure, frustration, even catastrophy." The fact is with any new business you assume a ton of risk. RH Macy tried and failed with several dry goods stores before he finally made it in NYC. The ability to identify that risk and motivate yourself to overcome it is what defines a successful entrepreneur. We have to be constantly learning and adapting. No risk, no reward.

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors you’re working on that you’re extra excited about?

Gross: As far as new endeavors, we are currently looking for other spaces. We are not tied to the German theme, but we are looking for something that definitely feeds a need and fits the location. Being fairly new to the area we are also looking for a partner who we can grow with together. The idea of having multiple locations/concepts would require a larger team to ensure proper management in successfully running those multiple operations. We have a few concepts in development but we will solidify Village Brauhaus before moving on to a new venture. As far as Village Brauhaus goes we are currently working on updating some menu items, as well as a new Bauernplatte challenge that we will be rolling out in August. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram page for details!

Patch: Do you have any events coming up in your community?

Gross: Upcoming events would be our Pretzels for Paws and obviously Oktoberfest. As the number one outlet for Hofbräu beer in the state we are fortunate enough to be getting a wooden keg barrel for our opening ceremony for Oktoberfest. These kegs get tapped with a shouting of "O'Zapft is!" to signify the beginning of the festival. We are incredibly stoked to be getting this authentic barrel straight from Munich. During Oktoberfest weekend celebrations we will have live music, a special Wies'n menu only available on the weekends, as well as traditional games and giveaways.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and business?

Gross: Visit our website! You can also see about our events on Facebook and Instagram. For any party information (we have two dining rooms and three bars to accommodate parties from 15-200) you can shoot us an email here or for more information, our team would love to answer any questions here.