A new eatery will serve the public during the Seymour Oktoberfest in 2020, but it won’t fold up its location at the closure of the annual festival.
Schwätzers plans on staying within its parameters permanently after opening downtown next October.
In February, Solomon Rust, a 32-year-old Seymour native, purchased the building at 113 Indianapolis Ave. His plan for the location, formerly occupied by Chatterbox Bar and Grill, is to turn the 1,400-square foot space into a German restaurant.
With a deep German heritage in Jackson County, Rust feels it’s the perfect time and place to open Schwätzers.
“The overall theme, other than being a German restaurant, and kind of my motivation for doing all of this is that there’s a very strong German heritage in southern Indiana,” Rust said.
“My dad actually grew up not knowing English even though he was second or third generation from Germany. He didn’t know English until he was 6 or 7, ” he said. “With World War II coming on … that all got cut out, so by the time I was born, he didn’t even know German. It’s a good example for me, but I think it’s a good example for everyone else that we’ve kind of washed away the German culture without realizing it, and we just kind of have the remnants left.”
Rust said many German dishes already are a part of Hoosier culture.
“Indiana’s state food is a breaded tenderloin sandwich. Well, that’s just a German schnitzel on a bun, basically,” he said. “There are a lot of clues to German heritage still around. I think there’s interest. It’s just everyone waiting for someone to make that move.”
At the moment, Rust is doing renovations to the interior of the building.
“Right now, we’re just trying to get everything gutted out,” he said. “There was a lot of cover-up on the inside — some things that were not done right or that you’d want in a nicer restaurant. We’re trying to get as much as we can out now so we can start with a clean sheet.”
The plan is to have an open floor where chairs, counters and tables can move around as need be, Rust said.
While Schwätzers will serve German beer, wine and other standard beverage options, Rust said the main focus will be on the food at the restaurant.
“We’re looking to tie in existing food items,” he said. “We’re looking at tenderloin sandwiches as an Indiana option but also having a German schnitzel with jaeger gravy on it. Another option would be homemade egg noodles or spätzle. We’re trying to keep it simple. We’re looking for a simple menu. It will be one sheet.”
Rust said he’s in the process of getting the proper paperwork done, but plans have built momentum since he got back from a work trip in India. Full time, Rust works for Cummins Inc.
“For right now, I’m focusing on all the demoing,” Rust said. “I have floor plans and layouts. I’ve been talking with several people, with Main Street Seymour and the county and city trying to get things going. It has started slow but will start picking up heavy over the wintertime. We’re getting more of the architectural work and permits worked out.”
While the former business has been closed for years, its title isn’t leaving with a new business coming in. Schwätzers translates to chatterbox.