Former Burlington Beer executive chef John Roettinger and his wife, Courtney, also a seasoned hospitality professional, have announced that they will open Schaefer’s at 30 Bridge Street in Richmond. The 80-seat restaurant space was most recently occupied by Hatchet, which closed after a decade last March.
The Roettingers, who have a 3.5-year-old daughter, said they plan to serve three meals a day, five days a week and offer a family-friendly menu with “something for everyone,” in Courtney’s words. They expect to open in early June after some renovations and kitchen equipment upgrades.
The Roettinger family has deep roots in the restaurant industry. The new Richmond spot is named after a restaurant started by John’s great-grandmother, Lydia Schaefer, who immigrated as a teenager to the United States from Germany in the early 1940s. John, 34, said the original Schaefer’s Restaurant was a fixture in Hoboken, N.J., through the 1980s. “This is how my family started in America,” he said. “Let’s keep the legacy going.”
John’s father, Harvey, rose through the ranks to become an area director for the regional Bertucci’s restaurant group and will be involved with the new restaurant, too. “My father taught me everything,” John said. “He started in the kitchen, just like me.”
After beginning as the opening executive chef for Burlington Beer’s South End location in 2021, John became the director of operations there. Prior to that, he cooked at Mule Bar in Winooski and Hen of the Wood in Burlington. Courtney, 37, met her future husband when both worked downtown at the now-closed Scuffer Tap & Table. She went on to become one of the front-of-house managers at Winooski’s Waterworks Food + Drink.
The couple said they are hoping to channel the fondness locals had for the Bridge Street Café, which preceded Hatchet at 30 Bridge Street. Schaefer’s will be “not too fussy, not too expensive,” John said.
The menu will range from pancakes, French toast and eggs Benedict for breakfast to pastrami on house-baked rye, a chopped wedge salad and a classic smash burger for lunch. Dinner will bring steak frites as well as seared salmon, cauliflower steak and roast chicken, all served with seasoned fries, plus specials. Schaefer’s will pour cocktails, mocktails, beer, wine and coffee made with Vivid Coffee Roasters beans from Burlington.
Follow @Schaefers.vt on Instagram for updates.
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