When Tracey Nikodemus returned to Texas after seven years of living in Germany with her husband and stepson, she said she noticed a gap that needed to be filled in Tomball’s restaurant scene.

“There’s nothing German here,” Nikodemus said. “So I thought, ‘OK, that’s a niche I can totally get into.’”

In November 2014, she opened Landhaus Nikodemus as an antique retail shop before receiving a license to serve food and drinks a month later. Nikodemus said at first she only planned to serve a limited number of menu items, such as cakes and sandwiches. Soon after, however, she found her regular customers wanting more traditional German foods.

“We have a huge German following; it’s more than I imagined,” Nikodemus said. “We went from kind of a simple menu to adding more German dishes like schnitzel.”

Although it is a customer favorite now, Nikodemus said she was originally apprehensive about adding schnitzel, a pan-fried pork chop, to the menu because it was a dish she had not regularly prepared while living in Germany.

“Once we got [the dish] mastered, we really get a lot of people [who] say it’s the best schnitzel ever,” Nikodemus said.  “A lot of German [customers] say it tastes just like [their] mom’s.” 

The menu has since expanded to include bratwurst, pretzel buns, stuffed pork loin, red cabbage and spaetzle, a type of egg noodle typically served as a side dish with butter, sauce or gravy.

The restaurant and shop see large crowds of customers during the city’s many annual festivals, including the Tomball German Heritage Festival and the Tomball German Christmas Market, she said.

Looking back on her first year in business, Nikodemus said she has received a lot of support from the Tomball community.

“[My customers] really have been my heroes—all of them,” Nikodemus said. “They just embraced me from the minute I started and haven’t stopped since.”