Brotchen (BRERT-khen)

(Ithaca, NY)  For decades, brötchen(pronounced "BRERT-khen") have been served in the finest coffee shops and coffee houses in Austria, Germany and other northern European cities. For Michael Horzing, the owner ofIthaca ’s newest coffee shop Brötchen, cooking is the ultimate expression of life.   If you ask him, food is not only sustenance, but the meals we cook and the desserts we eat all contain history, art, culture, mathematics, science and, yes, even love. 

As a young child growing up with his grandparents in Austria , Michael’s idea of good food and the love of home were always intertwined. Michael began his formal training in Vienna,Austria and continued in Rome, Italywhere the love of great food is no less essential to life. There, Michael apprenticed in Alfredo Di Romabecoming fluent in the Italian language and cuisine.

In 1982, Michael was a chef in Disney World’s Epcot Center . Unfortunately, the Italian Pavilion provided no creative freedom, something that was essential to Michael as a chef. Consequently, Mr. Horzing successfully opened, operated, and finally sold his own Northern Italian-style restaurants in Florida ’s Tampa Bay Area.  In 1995, Michael came toIthaca to visit. Impressed by the natural beauty of the Finger Lakes Region, Michael sold his properties in Florida and decided to stay.

When he opened Brötchen this past November, Michael Horzing was delighted to be welcomed by a large international community. Many people have said that this European-style coffee house serving delicious coffees, baked goods, and daily lunch specials has filled a niche on The Commons. Horzing states, “After so many years away from Europe and away from the restaurant business, opening a coffee house inspired by the Viennese Kaffeehaus was, in a way, like coming home again. And, the work involved in owning and operating a coffee house that serves authentic Austrian and German food and European baked goods is a labor of love.”

Michael Horzing, Owner