Old Heidelberg goes out in German style

Unless you plan to visit Sarasota, Fla., this was the last day to savor a bite of apple strudel, Black Forest cake, schnitzel and other authentic German fare from Old Heidelberg Pastry Shop & Café.

German-born and trained pastry chef Karl Schoenberger Jr., whose father opened the bakery and restaurant 42 years ago, closed the landmark business at 1109 S. Tejon St. at 4 p.m. today.

The name, equipment and secret family recipes will accompany Schoenberger to his semiretirement destination of Sarasota, where he plans to open a small seasonal bakery.

“I’m worn out,” he said Tuesday, while taking a break from baking, “and we got a good opportunity to move on.”

A few months ago, Schoenberger sold the building that for decades has smelled better than Grandma’s kitchen and had become a hangout for German natives seeking a taste of the homeland.

By the end of this month, Schoenberger has to vacate the building, which now wears a “For Lease” sign.

“It happened a little quicker than we thought,” Schoenberger said.

Closing the business is proving to be a highly unpopular decision.

“This is terrible — it breaks my heart,” said Maxine Niemann, a 40-year customer who works at a nearby antiques store.

“They have the best pastries in town. And the best coffee — it’s real and strong. And the potato salad is so good I always ask for seconds,” she said Tuesday, ordering boxes of baked goods and grabbing a souvenir coffee mug off the shelf. “I had to get a cup so I could cry in my coffee.”

Schoenberger said that he’s been “chewed out” by many customers for shutting down but that he feels the time is right. Schoenberger started his career in 1966 at age 8, when his father opened the bakery after working as the head pastry chef at The Broadmoor hotel.

The younger Schoenberger initially washed dishes and greased pans after school, then at age 14 went to Germany for three years to study the art of making cakes, tortes, pastries and breads.

He took over the business in 1988.

But the demands of the profession have taken a toll on Schoenberger, who has arrived at the bakery at 3 a.m. every workday for more than three decades.

“With the product we have, we can’t say, ‘Sorry, the parts didn’t come in’ when we open the door at 7:30 a.m.,” he said. “Everything has to be ready to go.”

Schoenberger typically bakes and cooks for 10 hours a day, with the help of one assistant baker. He then spends more time making deliveries, buying supplies, doing paperwork, creating new recipes and overseeing his staff of 12. His wife, Lori, handles the bookkeeping.

Now, at age 50, Schoenberger said he has pains in his knees and back, and his body balks at cold weather.

“It’s not easy. German-style baking is more elaborate and sophisticated. There’s a lot of training, practice, trial and error,” he said. “Our three children don’t want the business — they see the toll it takes.”

He said he never considered selling Old Heidelberg because he thought it would be too difficult to find someone who would run it the way he and his father did.

Schoenberger has designed and baked thousands of cakes for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers and other special events, often recreating elaborate tiered masterpieces from photos customers supplied.

Business has been steady through the years, good enough for Schoenberger to open a second location in 1998, on Austin Bluffs Parkway, which he closed 1½ weeks ago. He also increased commercial accounts, including selling packaged baked goods at local King Soopers stores and supplying bread and pastries to numerous local restaurants and hotels, such as the Antlers Hilton, Doubletree and Marriott.

“We’d get orders for 400 loaves of bread using a specially requested recipe that we’d have to test and retest,” Schoenberger said.

In the past year, the price of flour has doubled and eggs tripled, he said. In addition, many of the jellies and pastes have had to be ordered from a European supplier.

“Everything’s gone up, including packaging and freight,” he said. “I’ve been holding on to prices as long as I could, but we would have had to raise prices soon.”

Customers said they wouldn’t have minded paying a little extra because the quality of Old Heidelberg’s baked goods was unbeatable.

“I’ve never tasted this type of butter cream frosting anywhere,” said Kris Martell, owner of Best Drywall Co., who was eyeing the selection at the store counter Tuesday. “This is a very unique bakery that can’t be replaced. I’ve already looked all over town.”

Over the 27 years she’s patronized the business, Martell has ordered her wedding cake, along with holiday cakes and birthday cakes for her family. Tuesday, she walked out with a Vienna cake, a checkerboard cake, a chocolate cake and plenty of pastries.

“I grabbed everything I could. It’s very disappointing,” Martell said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0235 or debbie.kelley@gazette.com