Alpenhaus, Java Haus to close this weekend
NEW MILFORD — For several years, guests have gotten a taste of Germany at the Alpenhaus where cowbells hang from the ceiling to enhance the aesthetic and Bavarian pretzels, schnitzel and bratwurst are served.
But the Alpenhaus on Bank Street and the upstairs coffe shop, Java Haus, are closing this weekend as the owners look to share German culture in another way.
“The parting is bittersweet,” said Manuela Dürre, who runs the Alpenhaus and Java Haus with her fiance, Jeff Yenter. “We made so many friends and this was my baby — my home away from home.”
Residents won’t have to wait long though for those spaces to be filled at 59 Bank St.
Both establishments have new owners that will continue to offer food and coffee, as well as keep the community spirit associated with the Alphenhaus.
“That was very important to us,” Dürre said.
The coffee shop is expected to be closed for 11⁄2 to two weeks after Java Haus closes Sunday so that it can be remodeled for the new owners. It will be run by Barristers, which has a location in Danbury.
The Alpenhaus space will remain a bar restaurant and serve specialty burgers and pizzas, as well as other pub food. Alpenhaus will close Saturday to give more time to clean and remodel.
Alpenhaus gift cards will be accepted until December 2019.
“It’s important to Jeff and I that the community will be just as welcoming to the new place as they were to us,” Dürre said. “We can hear the excitement and passion in both of them talking about the new coffee shop and restaurant bar downstairs.”
She said she will especially miss their customers.
“It was very important to us to be social and go out and meet our guests — get to know them,” Dürre said. “We were at the bar where people came in and we greeted them by name. Many times, we were able to give them their drink before they ordered because we knew what they wanted and I think that was appreciated.”
She launched a German restaurant in 2006 with Little Europa Cafe in Brookfield, where she and Yenter live. She outgrew that space in 2011 and opened Alpenhaus in 2014 when the New Milford space became available. They expanded to the coffee shop upstairs in April after the other coffee shop on Bank Street closed.
Alpehaus was a way for her to share German culture and food, as well as their love of the Alps with the people of Connecticut. Though Dürre is from a northern German town, just below the Denmark border, she became fascinated with the Alps. She moved to southern Germany when she was 10 and has since skied various sections of the Alps with Yenter.
She said the opportunity has come to share her German culture and heritage in another way.
Dürre, who started as a firstgrade teacher, is focusing on publishing her German lesson book. She wrote the book in the early 2000s while teaching non-native speakers how to read, write and speak German.
The book follows two children’s adventures, incorporating knights in shining armor, dragons, castles and princesses. She said she created it because she didn’t see lesson books that kept the children’s attention or interest. By ending each lesson on a cliff hanger, the students were excited to come to class every Saturday.
The book is done, but now she needs to work on the lesson plans that go with the book. She expects to travel as she promotes the books at conventions, and encourages German schools across the U.S. to incorporate it into their curriculum.
She and Yenter are creating puzzles so the schools can use them to teach the geography of Germany. Yenter is busy with his construction work.
Though Dürre said she is sad to leave, she doesn’t expect this to be the end of her interactions with her customers. She would like to have a special night where she cooks as a throwback to the Alpenhaus and plans to still visit the new establishments.
“Our goal is to definitely stay in touch with everyone,” she said.