(For a chance to win a set of VIP tickets or a $50 gift card please submit a comment at the bottom of this post!)
Guess who’s turning 15 next month? I bet most of you have already heard it, but it’s Sanford’s most famous restaurant, Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe!! And I am sure you all know that Hollerbach’s knows how to throw a party! Well, exactly that is happening on Monday, August 1st, which marks the exact day Hollerbach opened its doors 15 years ago! Come join the Hollerbach family, Theo, Linda and Christina as they celebrate this special event! Click here to read an amazing article written by Christina about what 15 Years of Willow Tree mean to her.
The event if free to attend for everyone and will include celebratory activities throughout all 3 Hollerbach businesses (Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe, Magnolia Square Market and Hollerbach’s Art Haus), Magnolia Square, and even the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, where you will witness the world premiere of the hometown documentary, “Gemutlichkeit: Made in America”. (see teaser video below!)
Round out the day with a beer tasting at Magnolia Square Market, a wine tasting at Hollerbach’s Art Haus, music, photo ops, and schnitzel corn hole, and that’s what we call Hollerblocking!
Prost to 15 years of Gemutlichkeit!!
For all guests who are truly dedicated to Gemutlichkeit, you can become a VIP Guest and you will also get to enjoy unlimited food and drink in Magnolia Square, including German beer and schnapps; preferred seating at the film screening, and a Hollerbach Swag Bag, filled with commemorative goodies like shirts, pins, and mugs.
WHEN: Monday, August 1, 2016 from 6PM to 9PM
WHERE: Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe – 205 East 1st Street, Sanford, FL 32771
ADMISSION: FREE
Win 2 VIP Tickets ($100 value!) to the big event on August 1, 2016
Are you ready for an unforgettable evening in Sanford? You and your guest will be able to enjoy unlimited food and drink at the 15 Year Anniversary event in Magnolia Square and much more! All you have to do is comment below why you think the Willow Tree is WUNDERBAR.
I am sure you have a lot of good reasons, let’s hear it from you 😉
PS: Second Prize is a $50 gift card to Hollerbach’s.
Winners will be notified by email and announced on July 27th so please comment by 11:59pm on July 26th. Winners must respond within 24 hours or a new drawing will be held!
And the winners are…
Brandon Otis – Congratulations, you won the 2 VIP tickets!
Patrick – Congratulations, you won the $50 gift card!
My take on this?
To think of Sanford without Hollerbach’s is virtually impossible, I am sure you would agree! I am personally so grateful for all the wonderful hours spent at Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe. Ever since I first moved to Sanford from Germany over 10 years ago I have been visiting my favorite place downtown, the place that truly brings me closer to my home country.
When I hear Jimmy and Eckard play I always get a bit nostalgic, but in a good and happy way that lets my heart beat faster. Eating German fare also always lifts my spirits, hence I don’t only eat lunch or dinner at Hollerbach’s but also buy German (food) products at Magnolia Square Market. With an annual Oktoberfest, Nikolaustag, Fasching and numerous World Cup games and Euro Cup games watched on the big screen at Hollerbach’s, what else can a German girl in the US ask for? Those are all things that keep me in touch with my German culture, and those are things my kids get to experience as well and I am forever grateful for that!
I am so lucky and happy to have the best German restaurant on this side of the globe right here in my backyard! So thank you for that! Thank you for being such a big part of the reason why I call Sanford my new home. The Willow Tree is WUNDERBAR 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soWHWJvlr3Q
Congratulations and thank you for all the work you’ve put into the community!
Love this Willow Tree. Just got back from visiting friends in Germany. Love everything German! So happy we have such a awesome place to relive my experience from my trip right here in Sanford!! I could eat RED CABBAGE from Willow Tree for every meal~!!
Why is the Willow Tree the WUNDAR Bar? – Well, why wouldn’t it be?
We are looking forward to this event. I loved Christina’s article on what it meant growing up in this amazing family. Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe is a real anchor for downtown Sanford, and it’s the great food, the fantastic atmosphere, and the great service that keep us going back time after time. We will be there to toast their success and wish them another fantastic 15 years, and beyond!
The Willowtree is wünderbar because it reminds me of some of the happiest moments in my life. It is impossible not to be happy when you’re there, and it has the best German food outside of Germany.
I love the Willow Tree for their wonderful and different food choices! Always something interesting to try! The service is always top notch and the entertainment is awesome! What a great addition to Sanford!
Love the Hollerbach Willow Tree, great food and entertainment!
Happy Anniversary to a lovely family!
The Willow Tree Cafe is the real thing in a world filled with fakes. From the moment you arrive you feel the love! The staff is awesome too. Never disappointed ever!
Looking forward to the anniversary! I’ll never forget the last one, the owner was talking to everyone holding das boot and sharing in the anniversary cake!
Your beer is the best!
We think Willow Tree is Wunderbar because it is a great local place with a great selection of food and drink! Would love to attend the bash!
Hollerbachs is so much fun. Great German food and beer!
Happy 15th Anniversary to the best German restaurant in all of Florida! My husband and I have three children and rarely have a date night together. I will never remember stumbling onto Hollerbach’s eleven years ago when we were pushing all three of them in their strollers around downtown Sanford. It was a hot day and we were a wee bit cranky. We decided to take a break and try this restaurant for lunch in the outside dining area. It had the most wonderful food and drinks and even our little ones enjoyed the fun items from the kid’s menu (the will never forget the gummy bears). Ever since then we have always made Hollerbach’s our favorite destination place whether it be a simple meal with our children, a party with friends and family or most special….those treasured date nights with my husband. The staff is friendly, the music is wonderful, the atmosphere feels as though we are being transported to Germany and the food and beer/wine selection is exceptional. I wish the Hollerbach family and their team many more years of success….on behalf of the Ruble family we think you are truly “Wunderbar”! You are a shining star for the Sanford community.
“never forget” 🙂
Hollerbach’s Willowtree Cafe always provides our family with an authentic German taste experience, exemplary friendly and polite service, and the most inviting and fun atmosphere on the 1st street strip! The Willow Tree is always buzzing with activity and you can always find a friend or meet someone new and interesting! It is our go to spot!
talk about a place that has the right atmosphere…it’s just wunderbar! Pretzel…beer….music. Can’t get any better then that
Willow Tree is Wunderbal because they have the most authentic German food and entertainment around! Love it!! 🙂
Being German, I love Willow Tree. I can’t wait.
Uh…only German food around.so appreciate being here…..great people..
The Willowtree is the most fabulous local restaurant to have a wonderful authentic German meal and a great time as well. The entertainment provides good German music and some laughs as well. My father was raised in Vienna, Austria and I recall him singing most of the songs and even remember some of the words. It is definitely worth coming back again and again!
Why is Hollerbach’s WUNDERBAR? That’s easy – the people! Theo and Linda are amazing. Theo always makes groups feel welcome and brings out DAS BOOT! Christina is also generous and has been wonderful to work with on dinners and events. And Patrick and Cory…voted the best chef and bartender in Sanford! We love Willow Tree and always take out of town guests. We’re definitely planning on attending the big bash but VIP tickets would be, well, WUNDERBAR!
The food, the atmosphere and,of course,the beer make it an amazing evening out with friends!
The best part of Germany right here in Sanford!! The authentic food and the German beer and music,, it’s just WUNDERBAR!!
Let’s start with the beer! Beer beer beer! I like big beers and I cannot lie! It’s soothing to sit outside, drinking a beer and people watching. I need to build more upper body strength to hoist the huge glass to my face!
Then, there’s the pretzel: mustard is a must! It’s okay to dip the pretzel in the beer, but I don’t suggest applying mustard first.
The brats, sausages, kraut: I am not worthy!
Just eat here. And eat here again. And don’t plan on driving if you are drinking the Big Beer.
Prost!
Would love to attend the event! Always up for some German beer!!
Congrats on your 15 years , can’t wait to eat there on your 30th ?
Willow Tree not only has great German food and beer, it brought life to Sanford. My husband and I were both born in Sanford as was our mothers. My Dad ran Jones Auto Service at !0th and Sanford Ave for30 years and the building he built is still there. My husband father had a cabinet shop in Sanford for years.my Aunt and Uncle ran a gift shop from the Willow Tree in the 80’s across the street where I worked. We truly love Sanford and the Willow Tree. We live quietly in retirement and enjoy the actives and atmosphere in Sanford and thank you.
As new resident of Sanford, I visited the restaurant few weeks ago. I liked the food, the beer I tasted and the service. It was a nice experience.
My first visit to the Willow Tree was shortly after I arrived in Florida from Indiana. It must have just opened and my daughter who worked at the County building invited me to lunch at the new restaurant for a delicious Chicken Salad Croissant…I can’t begin to tell you how many folks I’ve invite to meet me there for lunch or dinner and it was their first time. I recently found their Deli and have found both the restaurant and deli wunderbar!
The Willowtree restaurant is the best German restaurant ice ever been to! The atmosphere and friendly service alone are enough to keep anyone coming back but with the delicious food and beer, it’s my favorite destination in all of Sanford!I would love to win this prize and take some of my friends here that have never been and show them exactly what makes this restaurant and downtown area so WUNDERBAR!
When I’m in Sanford, which is often and I hear the music coming from Hollerbach’s it’s like a magnate drawing me in. We enter and put on our happy faces that stay that way throughout our evening ther. The German food is the best, the atmosphere is fun, what more can you ask!
Hollarbachs was mine and my boyfriends very first stop on our visit to sanford fl a few months ago. It truly brought us back together and helped sell us on relocating from NY to FL and to the amazing town of sanford. Hollarbach not only has incredible food and drinks but it holds an amazing meaning to us and our big adventure of relocating and bringing us closer together and helping remind us how in love we really are. We’ve been settling in sanford since March and frequent Hollarbachs weekly, it was a core reason to choosing sanford and will continue to be a favorite place of ours for several reasons.
The Willow Tree and the Hollerbach family are both WUNDERBAR because they provide great food and so much fun, joy, and positivity to Sanford. Our downtown would not be the same without them. They greet you with kindness and remember your name. One is treated like a friend and not just a customer.
Love, love Sanford!
Love Willow tree! Would love to come to the celebration!
I love Willow Tree because it’s the only place my German immigrant Oma can find in central Florida that has true authentic German food. She’s notoriously picky about German food and loves Hollerbach’s. We joke that half the reason she comes to visit us from Cocoa is to get German products from the market in Magnolia Square.
Sounds like a great event!!
yes, Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe is for sure, the highlight of our downtown area. And their shop on Magnolia makes one mean sandwich. Don’t miss either…………
Happy anniversary!!
Willow Tree not only has such great food but also a really great, friendly atmosphere!
LOVE this place!!! Had my Birthday celebration there in June, so much fun!!!
I moved to Florida 4 yrs ago from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Not knowing much about the whereabouts of the state, I found an apartment in Sanford. I’ve always look for tranquility and the feeling of togetherness and I found it here, in Sanford. I love this city and wouldn’t change it for anything. I love the downtown Sanford area and it’s cozy feeling.
For the last 10 years, Willow Tree has been a place for our friends and family to gather, sing, dance, clink glasses and chug boots over celebrations and losses. It is what brought us to love Sanford more than our hometown of Orlando. Going “downtown” brought on a whole new meaning for us as we desired discovering the wunderbar town of Sanford more and more. All thanks to the Willow Tree, I became obsessed with the idea of making Sanford our hometown and living within biking distance to the Will, as we’ve lovingly named it. I’d be reminded of this every time we’d come downtown and also every year during the IOA corporate 5k – I’d be wanting longing to stop running right at the point that when I’d see Theo with his chef pants and boot of beer on the last turn of the race, cheering everyone on. It was the highlight of my run!! Just reiterating my love of on day leaving Orlando for Sanford.
That dream finally came true this May. We took the plunge and bought our own piece of historic Sanford. How’d we celebrate?? Well, at the Will, of course!!!!
The Willow Tree is a staple of our community, a representation of all that Sanford stands for and brings hope to our city. Thank you for a WUNDERBAR 15 years!!!!
Congratulations, we love this restaurant. The best German restaurant in central Florida.
Woohoo!
We love this place! Always a good time and never a bad experience!
Willow tree cafe is an awesome place to eat, hang out & party! Food & service are awesome & amazing! I love this place!
Congratulations! This will be unforgettable!
We love Willow Tree! It is such a special landmark in downtown Sanford. We have been going there since it first opened 15 years ago. We love Theo and Linda!
I recently moved to Sanford after realizing what it had in store for me , especially hollerbachs I would love to research the history abs see what’s so awesome more than their service and food