The Büchler family from left back row: Son Alexander and wife Maxi Büchler; Carla and Wolfgang Büchler; daughter Vivi and husband Chris Nichols. Front row from left: Grandchildren Abram and Isaac Büchler; Georgia Büchler; Tatiana Nichols; Owen Nichols. Photo by Shirley Ruhe.
Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe customers crowd in front of pastry cases, stand in the free cupcake line and wait for a chance to offer Wolfgang and Carla Büchler congratulations for 50 years as a business in Arlington. Cars drive around the block and down the street trying to find parking for the event.
Saturday, Feb. 15 the Büchlers are hosting a celebration at the bakery from 9 a.m.-noon, with the key to the County to be presented at 10 a.m. Wolfgang emigrated to the United States in 1969 and spoke little English but when he couldn’t find good bread anywhere he decided to make it himself. He began the bakery in 1975 and grew it into a “go-to” place for German food including bauernwurst, German potato salad, creamed herring, a variety of sandwiches and spreads as well as a wide selection of cakes, donuts, strudel, candies and pretzels.
The bakery began in 1975 and later moved to its present location at 2150 N. Culpeper Street in a new two-story building with a complete bakery upstairs. It has been voted Arlington’s Best Bakery for a number of years, the best wedding cake by bridal magazines and a favorite of the Obama family during his Presidency.
Wolfgang chats with longtime customers and recounts stories from years gone by, sometimes covering three generations of families. Their family including son and daughter with spouses and five grandchildren mingle with the crowd. Wolfgang points to his son, Alexander. “I am the first 50 years and he is the next 50 years,” he says.
The day is offering free cupcakes and a line has formed nearly to the front window but it is moving fast. “Chocolate or vanilla?” Nathan Smith asks before he swirls a choice of chocolate, lemon or mocha frosting on the top of the cupcake and points to the sprinkles and other toppings. Smith has worked at Heidelberg for 19 years.
At 10 a.m. the ceremony begins to honor the bakery and present Wolfgang and Carla with a key to Arlington County. County Board chair Takis Karantonis asks the crowd, “Who wouldn’t come out for a cupcake from Heidelberg?” He says the bakery is an institution. “People have grown up here.” He says it is important for three reasons: “It is a neighborhood business that has made it 50 years, as well as a family business, and this is all of us here.” He adds, “It connects me with my ethnic heritage, a familiarity, real bread.” Karantonis was born in Greece and attended university in Germany.
“This is the best bread there is; if you tried to buy bread on Amazon, you would regret it.“ A loud “boooo” erupts from the crowd.
“It is the biggest struggle to retain neighborhood businesses. It is a huge challenge and you choose to come here. Now his son gets the next 50 years. “
Julius D. (JD) Spain Sr. newly-elected Arlington County Board member, says he lived 7 years in Europe when he was in the Marine Corps with three of those years in Stuttgart. “I went back and forth to Heidelberg. When I moved here in 2009 I wondered where I could get some of that good bread in America. So I found Heidelberg and have been going back and forth the past 16 years. It is not just a business, it is a place for family and community.” He continues, “We love you, we appreciate you. We are here to support you; let’s get 50 more years.”
When Spain suggests to Wolfgang that he should open a branch of Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in S. Arlington, Wolfgang answers, “I made a decision a long time ago I would only have one wife and one business.”
Carla Büchler thanked the crowd, “I’m overwhelmed and grateful to our family, customers and staff. “ Wolfgang’s comments were short but heartfelt. “No speech, I’m just happy.”