The Herwig's Story
In 1982, Herwig, Gundi, Bernd and Uta Brandstatter left their hometown of Igls, Austria to open a European bakery near Brisbane, Australia. They stopped in State College, Pennsylvania to visit friends of the family and fell in love with the Happy Valley area. Originally, the patriarch Herwig "Brandy" Brandstatter ran Herwig's Edelweiss, an Austrian restaurant outside of State College near the local ski area. Later, Brandy utilized his expertise in world travel to open a travel agency which he still maintains to this day.
As the travel industry declined in the post 9/11 climate, Brandy once again turned to the culinary world. Teaming up with his son Bernd, a graduate of the same Austrian hotel/restaurant school that he attended in his youth, Brandy decided to open Herwig's Austrian Bistro.