A popular State College restaurant will close, owner says

Better finish your last meal at Herwig’s Austrian Bistro — the restaurant is planning to close.

The announcement was made Sunday in a Facebook post. Owner Bernd Brandstatter cited health and financial concerns.

“Alright everybody, I’ve been dreading this post for a good while. Here it goes,” Brandstatter said in the post. “Due to my constant sciatica in my left leg from two ruptured discs and declining sales, I’ve decided to close Herwigs as early as June or August. We’ve really enjoyed the last 15 or so years serving up the best Austrian fare. So if you haven’t been in for a while this is your time to enjoy it whilst we are still open. I sure will miss everyone of you. It was always about the personal experience with a side of our Austrian home cooking and a bit of humor mixed in.”

The Brandstatter family moved Herwig’s in 2006 from Fraser Street to its current College Avenue location, a space three times the size of its original spot.

Herwig “Brandy” Brandstatter has long been called the restaurant’s “heart and soul.” The founder of the restaurant injected unique Austrian home cooking and humor into the eatery after moving to State College in 1982.

“We really cook exactly what we would cook at home,” Herwig Brandstatter said in 2006. “We cook everything fresh each day. We cook limited amounts of each item. When it’s gone we cross it off.”

The restaurant is closed on Sundays, and the Brandstatter family could not be immediately reached for further comment.

This story was originally published March 18, 2018 at 2:10 PM with the headline "A popular State College restaurant will close, owner says."