Local landmark draws worldwide following

NEW RIEGEL – Open since 1953, the New Riegel Cafe has been serving its customers the same menu, but it is this simple menu that keeps people coming back. The New Riegel Cafe as opened by W.J. “Pete” Boes after serving three years as a cook in the U.S. Army during World War II. Following that time in 1945, Boes worked as a carpenter before he tasted a friend’s barbecue chicken. Boes then created his own barbecue sauce and that recipe has been used ever since. Tom Boes, who took over the cafe in 2010 with his brother Dick, said his father opened the cafe because it was something different. “He liked and enjoyed listening to people talk, all the good and bad,” Boes said. He said he enjoys talking to area residents and people just passing through. Christian Staib, a sophomore at Calvert Catholic High School, has been working at the caf for two months. He works in the kitchen, cleaning, making salads and putting sauce on the ribs. Staib said he decided to work at the caf because it is close to where he lives and the Boes family has taken him to school several times. “The people I work with are enjoyable,” Staib said. “When we are not working, we get to have down time and talk.” Staib said the caf has put New Riegel on the map. “People all over the world have come to eat the ribs here,” he said. “There is a group that comes from Germany every few years to eat.” Staib, whose mother Christine also works at the restaurant, said the caf brings people to New Riegel. “It is nice to have here for families, to have some place to go, even in someplace that is so small,” Staib said. “It is something that I’ve done all my life, I plan on dying here,” Boes said. The menu has grown from just chicken to include ribs and now beef, ham and shrimp. Also included on the menu are hamburgers, ham sandwiches, hot dogs and salads. “It is a simple menu, it is what people enjoy,” Boes said. The cafe also sells its own homemade bologna, sausage and wieners. Alongside the cafe, Boes and his family run a gift shop that is decorated with antiques – some found in the building’s basement and some acquired along the way. Old photos line the walls. For sale are Amish furniture, lazy Susans, figurines, linens, afghans, jams and jellies, New Riegel Cafe T-shirts and sweatshirts and more. The cafe is open 4:30-9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4:30-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. For any questions about the cafe, call (419) 595-2255.