The Berghoff, the 107-year-old Chicago restaurant that closed in February when owners Herman and Jan Berghoff retired, was reopened by their daughter Carlyn.
Little about the new Berghoff Cafe, which opened quietly Tuesday, was different from the old. "It's a mystery to me why they ever closed," said longtime Berghoff customer Arthur Raphael, 66.
The main difference, one not overlooked by customers, seemed to be the absence of its longtime unionized workers, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The old Berghoff was one of the few Chicago restaurants to still employ union cooks and servers, leading some to wonder whether the closing had more to do with rising employee costs.
"We had to do it the way we did it," Carlyn Berghoff said. She moved her catering firm into the leased space that will now accommodate private events.
But the Culinary Institute of America graduate and a 20-year catering veteran is keeping three of her parents' trademark dishes -- wiener schnitzel, sauerbraten and schlachtplatte.
"We want to get the crowds back," she said.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
