Bjoern Risse and Ben Yildirim traveled from Germany to the U.S. 15 years ago, with the goal of opening a beer garden, said Risse, co-owner of Kiez Küche & Beer Garden on York Boulevard.
“We [initially] opened up a little place in the Hollywood area, and now, 15 years later, we wanted to do something with a more modern German style, which you can find nowadays in Germany too, like a brewhouse,” Yildirim said. “We were inspired by that and came up with Kiez, which is a northern German–style beer garden.”
According to Risse, the central concept of Kiez is to serve as a meeting place for members of the community.
“Kiez actually means ‘my block’ in northern German, so that was the inspiration,” Yildirim said.
Yildirim said he and Risse selected Eagle Rock to open their restaurant because they felt there was high demand for businesses that appeal to the diverse group of people living in the neighborhood.
“We want to be a gathering point for the community […] so we try to cater to everyone,” Yildirim said.
According to Risse, Kiez is not just for one particular demographic, but a place where adults, children and dogs can come and enjoy the food, drinks and atmosphere. Risse said he and Yildirim’s experiences with their families and dogs inspired them to make the restaurant more accessible to the community.
“We’re always looking for places that we can go to as a family with a dog,” Risse said. “[At Keiz,] we have a dog menu [with] four or five items on that right now.”
Yildirim said that they are receptive to menu suggestions from customers and reiterated their goal of catering to everyone in the community.
“We have an extensive vegan menu too,” Yildirim said. “And if somebody comes up and has requests […] we’ll try to do it. We’ll try to make it happen.”
Risse said he and Yildirim had a goal of making their restaurant as authentically German as possible. They have maintained their commitment to preserving the restaurant’s German character, Risse said, but have also made some adjustments, such as adding Belgian beers to the menu and customizing the menu to accommodate the resources that California has to offer.
“Being in California, we tried to not focus on only the meat and potatoes, but work with some seasonal salads too,” Risse said. “We change things up every week for regulars, but also to work with all the seasonal ingredients that we have access to here in California.”
Kiez hosted a kick-off event for Oktoberfest Sept. 20. The event included a ceremonial keg tapping, which occurs every year on the same day in Munich, according to Risse.
“It was the first time [at] this location,” Risse said. “It was amazing — it brought a lot of people from the community out.”
Risse said that the restaurant underwent a makeover for Oktoberfest.
“The whole restaurant is decorated, the staff comes in [with] lederhosen, [and] we do a stein holding contest every weekend where the winner gets a prize,” Risse said.
Yildirim said the restaurant’s new side patio has been a focal point for customers during the Oktoberfest festivities.
“We have a side beer garden that we have opened up now with the bocce ball area, Ping-Pong table and foosball,” said Yildirim. “People can dine in and do the sit-down dinner with friends and family, but you can also just chill outside and have a good time with friends over cocktails.”
In addition to Oktoberfest, the restaurant hosts a weekly trivia night every Tuesday at 8 pm. According to Yildirim, they partner with King Trivia to run the event.
“You don’t need any preparation — just come in, have fun,” Yildirim said. “It’s over the speakers, so you can hear the host everywhere.”
Philip Asta is the operations manager for Risse and Yildirim’s conglomerate, German Gastro Management.
“We do give prizes for the winners,” Asta said. “[In the form of] gift cards to use at a later date.”
Risse said the recent growth in popularity of Kiez has made him excited for the future of the restaurant. He said the addition of the new side patio has played an important role in the increased attendance and said it is a reason in itself to visit the restaurant.
“I think that’s a great place [to hang out] because you have all the entertainment, you have music, bocce ball, ping pong,” Risse said. “That has become more popular by the week now and I’m very happy to see that.”
Kiez will continue to host Oktoberfest festivities every Friday and Saturday through Oct. 25.
Contact Nick Dobbs at ndobbs@oxy.edu
