Business Profile: Jennifer’s German American Restaurant
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
It has been a little piece of Germany in Yorktown for about three decades.
In 1979, Yorktown residents Irngard and Dieter Schramm opened the Lakeside restaurant, which received its name based on it being located on the banks of the Croton Reservoir. The restaurant was closed for a brief period in the 1990s but reopened on Saw Mill River Road as Jennifer’s German American Restaurant, named after the couple’s only daughter.
Schramm has been working in the restaurant business since he was 14 and Jennifer’s is the first eatery that he has owned. Schramm said he chose the Saw Mill River Road location for his establishment because of convenience, since it is close to both his home and the place of his former employment.
The current head chef at the restaurant is Somers resident Neal Heinrich, who said he prepares American and standard German food. Some of the German dishes include Sauerbraten, Weiner Schnitzel, Goulash, Beef Roulade (beef with pickles, Dijon mustard bacon and onions rolled up and braised in a red wine sauce) , as well as specials, including homemade pancakes, dumplings, Beef Wellington, soups and appetizers.
Some of the most popular dishes served at Jennifer’s include Beef Goulash, Weiner Schnitzel, Jaeger Schnitzel, which is Weiner Schnitzel topped with a mushroom sauce, and the Beef Roulade.
”We make all our desserts here,” Heinrich said. Some of the desserts include a warm chocolate bread pudding, apple strudel, and flans.
“Everything is fresh and made daily,” Heinrich said.
Like his boss, Heinrich said his interest in cooking and the restaurant business began as a teen. “I started cooking when I was 13,” he recalled. “My dad was from Germany and he would cook at the house and I would work with him.” Heinrich cooked during his high school years and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He worked in restaurants in southern California for a dozen hears before returning to the area, working in eateries in New York City and Westchester County. Heinrich began working at Jennifer’s a few months ago.
Jennifer’s is one of the few German restaurants in the area, Schramm said. The restaurant was designed to look like a building that would have been found in Germany in the Middle Ages, he said. Schramm has a collection of steins which decorate the bar.
Schramm said the key to a successful restaurant is staying in business for about two years. “If you survive the first couple of years you’re okay and keep up the good work with quality food and service” he said, adding that most unsuccessful restaurants fail within a year.
Jennifer’s has a repeat customer base, Heinrich said. “We have many repeat customers who have been coming back for many, many years,” he said.
Schramm added he has customers who have patronized his establishment since they were young children. “They keep coming back here,” he said.
Jennifer’s German American Restaurant is located at 715 Saw Mill River Rd. in Yorktown. For more information call 914-962-4298 or visit jennifersrestaurant.com.
