WAYNOKA—Dieter Dorner landed in Middle America nearly 30 years ago armed with an idea: to bring a decent restaurant to duners.
A tourism expert based out of his native Germany, Dorner met many people during his travels around the world throughout two decades, including folks from Waynoka, Oklahoma, home of Little Sahara State Park.
“They invited me to Waynoka and I came a couple of times,” he said, noting his first time was in 1971. He explained he saw plenty of business at the sand dunes south of town, but noticed back then there weren’t really any restaurants in the area serving the tourists.
Dorner realized he had an opportunity on his hands, so when the Berlin Wall fell, he decided that was as good as time as any to get out of the country and move to the United States.
He could open a restaurant in the Midwest wherein a significant population of German immigrants had homesteaded and bring them a taste of Deutschland, while simultaneously be able to go and see the U.S.A. in any direction.
“If I’m in the middle of America, I can go and see places,” the 76-year-old wistfully said. “In 27 years, that has never happened. The restaurant keeps me busy. My bucket list is full.”
Paying tribute to the past
“When I open the telephone book, I see 80% [of the last names] have a German background,” Dorner said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, German ancestry is the most common ethnic group in Oklahoma, many settling in the state during the land runs including the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in 1893.
Waynoka (then known as Keystone) was actually founded before that in Indian Territory in 1887 when Southern Kansas Railroad, a subsidiary of Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, built across Northwest Oklahoma. In fact, Waynoka’s post office in 1888 was the first post office in the Cherokee Outlet.
Dorner chose his restaurant’s name Café Bahnhof in 1998 not as a tribute to any family heritage but instead to pay homage to the town’s history because “Bahnhof” means “train station” in German.
Just off U.S. 281 in downtown Waynoka not far from the historical Santa Fe train depot with its original Harvey House, this German restaurant—more specifically southern German known as Bavarian—draws patrons from across the nation as a destination restaurant thanks to its pork dishes, pretzels, and German beer selection.
“We have a reputation for quality food and consistency,” Dorner said. He uses recipes passed on from his parents, adding the meals are like what he cooks at home.
The mainstays of the menu are five kinds of schnitzel from sweet to savory (for those unfamiliar, schnitzel is similar to chicken fried steak but with pork), beef roulade, oven-baked ham hock, lamb chops, and goulash with Angus beef cubes versus ground beef.
Ten German brews of bocks, weizens, and lagers are on tap alongside wines, spritzers, and bier mix drinks. Café Bahnhof also offers a variety of spirits and liqueurs such as Scotch, Irish, vodka, tequila, gin, shots, Canadian, and domestic.
Having a good time hosting
One of the most unique aspects about Dorner’s restaurant is customers can’t just walk in and be seated. The front door is literally locked; customers have to knock and state what time their reservations are before being welcomed in.
“We have limited seating. We hate to send people away, but that’s why we reserve seats and how we can guarantee service,” he said.
Between the cozy dim lit and dark wooden decor of a German tavern inside and the lush green covered patio of the biergarten outside, Café Bahnhof can handle up to 85 patrons. Friends from Germany and local contractors helped design the place, build the furniture, and paint the murals.
“I wanted a small place that’s personal so I could come out of the kitchen and host,” Dorner said.
Normally 30 to 50 people eat at the restaurant each weekend, depending on weather and activities in the area such as the riding the sand dunes and hunting, he said, adding spring and fall are his busiest seasons.
Being a specialized restaurant and a small business owner can have its drawbacks in rural Oklahoma.
Dorner—who earned his dual citizenship earlier this year—and his wife, Elke, do most of the labor from shopping, prepping, and cooking to hosting, waiting on customers, and cleaning the place.
He puts a lot of miles on his vehicle driving north to Alva for the basics then onto Kiowa, Kan., for the bratwurst made to his specifications at locally owned USDA-approved processing plant, and finally south to Oklahoma City for the German food specialties he can’t get anywhere else. And the sweet Bavarian mustard is shipped from Wisconsin and is not cheap, but it perfectly complements the pretzels, so he keeps it on hand anyway.
Dorner reminisced about a time early on when he had to use a German cookbook to show pictures of particular veggies to the food vendor so he could exactly order what he needed.
He also talked about the frustration of not having accessibility to Red Bull—the popular Austrian energy drink—in Oklahoma in the late 1990s.
“I contacted Red Bull’s headquarters in Austria, whom then contacted the U.S. headquarters in California, and ended up with a pallet of Red Bull soon after,” Dorner proudly touted.
Entertaining the future
This past summer Dorner had surgery on his left knee (don’t get him started on that detrimental decision) and is currently experiencing a staffing shortage, so unfortunately Café Bahnhof will not be hosting its annual Oktoberfest celebration this year.
The restaurant will, however, continue to host small acts each month such as local comedians and musicians.
As always, patrons can book a table by calling the restaurant any time, preferably a week or two ahead of the desired date, Dorner recommended. He is happy to schedule groups and parties too.
There are no restrictions as to how far in advance reservations can be made, and currently there are no blackout dates. Dorner tries to go back and visit Germany a couple of times a year as his son and family still live there; his daughter is a flight attendant based out of New Jersey.
So far, the Bavarian flavors and biergarten keep the regulars coming back time and time again.
“Everybody who comes wants to have a good time,” he said.
Café Bahnhof, 1725 E. Cecil, Waynoka, is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 6-9 p.m. through reservation only by calling (580) 824-0063. See updates about openings and entertainment online at Facebook.com/p/Cafe-Bahnhof-100063639966939.