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Before Schweini’s was a deli in Winter Garden, Schweini was Chris Frommeyer’s dog’s name. It still is, actually.
Before that, Schweini — pronounced with that whole, German, V-for-W thing (“Shviney”) — was his favorite footballer’s nickname.
Great achievements on the pitch notwithstanding, Frommeyer’s wife wasn’t hot on naming their beagle after Bastian Schweinsteiger.
“But I won that battle,” he tells me.
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And when you see the venue’s logo, a cartoonish depiction of Schweini, adorable in lederhosen, you might agree that it all seems fated.
So, too, did the deli’s location on my first visit as I noted both said logo on the window of the former Melts on Main space and Beneficial Breads, a German bakery, directly across the street.
“I had been looking at other places,” Frommeyer tells me, “including a larger one where I’d have been able to make my own breads, but when I walked up to this space and saw Beneficial, I thought, ‘if they can make my breads, I can take this spot.’”
Now open three months, Schweini’s schnitzel sandos feature Beneficial’s stellar pretzel buns – the formidable, mustard- and horseradish-marinated cutlets wear them like jaunty brown derby hats.
“They’re super good,” says Frommeyer, who also uses Beneficial’s hoagie rolls and other, more sliceable loaves from another Winter Garden local, DF Bakery.
But the Bavarian pretzel ($6), a tasty, toothy take that’s a must-try alongside a house-made beer cheese with ghost-peppery warmth that sneaks up on you (not too much, I promise!), is all Frommeyer’s.
At 42, Frommeyer has a hospitality resume that’s decades long and began in the front of the house, but bartending and serving and the like gave way to a keen interest in the kitchen, so the Kissimmee native headed to Le Cordon Bleu.
Upon graduation, he landed a corporate gig in Lake Mary, where he stayed for several years.
“I loved the schedule, but I hated the rules,” he says, though there were rules aplenty (technique-wise, anyway) when he made the jump to Le Petit Paris, working alongside its proprietor, French pastry chef Stephan Martin, for two years before plans for what would become Schweini’s began to coalesce.
Though Frommeyer’s family is far removed from its German roots, early exploration of his heritage bred in him an interest in the culture — including soccer (which he played in high school) and food. Visits to Germany only fueled it.
“A lot Schweini’s menu is based on German dishes I was exposed to during my travels, and I put my little twist on it,” he says.
The Die Behrens sando ($15) features that schnitzel/pretzel bun combo with a gorgeous lingonberry compote, sweet against tart, peppery lemon arugula. The Das München ($18) is a turkey club (with a schnitzel foundation) fat but sturdy and featuring speck and Muenster with house pickles and red cabbage.
Side options like a warm and mustardy German potato salad and both traditional, buttery spaetzle and käsespätzle (a creamy version made with Frommeyer’s beer cheese) are rich and satisfying, Briny pickle spears cut through it all.
Brats here come courtesy of Bavaria Sausage Company, a small, family-run operation that’s been slinging links and more for 60+ years in Wisconsin. Taste them and you’ll see why.
The Meine Weine ($18) features hefty, super snappy sausage that’s slow cooked in spicy beer broth. Garnished with broth braised onions and peppers, cheese sauce and stone-ground mustard (there are mustard options, get this one!) it’s a sandwich I will return to when I hit Schweini’s up for an early morning match.
Yes, Frommeyer’s fandom is more than decor-deep. Schweini’s (they have German beer, too!) hopes to be the west side’s home for those European matches (“Mostly Bundesliga and English premier,” he says), a place where die-hards can come get their soccer on without having to haul it to Hollerbach’s.
“I love Hollerbach’s!” he says. “It’s fantastic and they’ve done a great job, but it’s an hour away. Once you start watching soccer and throwing some beers back, that drive gets a little scary.”
Fans in Winter Garden and the surrounding area have been appreciative, he says, but he’d like to see more. A breakfast menu — simple and featuring croissants from his baker’s alma mater of Le Petit Paris — will debut in the next few weeks.
Fun sandwiches Frommeyer hopes will have folks ambling in at 7 a.m. to “get happy and fed.”
If you happen in for lunch, the Schweinibraten ($15) is fun on a bun. Frommeyer’s beer-braised pork shoulder is a German twist on pulled pork studded with red cabbage and apples with a pan sauce that’s delectably dunkable.
Share it, maybe, because while Frommeyer hopes to add breads and housemade sausages to the Schweini’s repertoire one day, he’s already got a dessert program. Mostly in the form of cheesecake.
Seasonal ones (watch for egg nog soon) and standards like German chocolate are proving tough to keep in the case. The super-creamy kaiserschmarrn, with its tart apple and plum topping, tasty shortbread crust and dollop of rum raisin frosting, is inspired by the traditional Austrian dessert. If it sounds good to you, get it. It is.
Between breakfast (and hopefully more than occasional breakfast matches) Frommeyer is looking to expand hours, which at press time were 11 to 3. Some lunches see 40 covers. Other days, it’s 10.
During quiet stretches, Schweini’s wifi (along with brats and bier) may beckon you to sit a spell. The network is named after Frommeyer’s other dog, save this honor, a largely anonymous pit mix with a name that required no impassioned debate.
“It’s called ‘Poor Duke,’” says Frommeyer.
If you go
Schweini’s Delicatessen: 108 S. Main St. in Winter Garden, 407-395-3235; schweinis-deli.com
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
