Bavarian Wagon rolling into Marketplace at Cooke

SANDUSKY — Sylvia Burns can't wait to migrate her German-themed eatery into a venue completely foreign to international foods.Burns, who runs the Bavarian Wagon food truck, normally parked at Jackson Street Pier in Sandusky, recently received funds through the newly established Sandusky Business Grant Initiative.The grant — which provides upward of $45,000 coming from H2 Property Holdings, a company purchasing and rehabbing various buildings throughout downtown Sandusky and Bay View, an investment totaling about $20 million since 2016 — helps existing entrepreneurs expand and explore a new venture.For Burns, she'll operate the Bavarian Wagon Wheel restaurant from The Marketplace at Cooke. People can expect the restaurant to debut sometime in early 2019. Her food truck will remain in operation but only for special events, like festivals."We selected Bavarian Wagon because of Sylvia's track record as a restaurateur, the success of her food truck and, as a German venue, she brings a continued diversification of food choices in Sandusky," said Rick Hogrefe, who, along with his wife, Meghan, runs H2 and approved the grant.Burns, who also previously owned the Bierkeller Pub & Restaurant in Bellevue, spoke about why she craved to open a sit-down restaurant in downtown Sandusky."I want to take things a little farther," said Burns, who is from Germany. "I will bring something that the city doesn't have. It will be authentic German food."Fans of the Bavarian Wagon shouldn't fret: She'll make every menu item sold at the food truck available, in addition to new options, at Bavarian Wagon Wheel."I'll have my sauerkraut balls. I'll have the schnitzel sandwich, which is a breaded pork loin on an egg bun with a southwest sauce. I'll have my Wiener schnitzel dinners with German potato salad," said Burns, adding how she makes everything from scratch.She continued: "The plan is to keep offering freezer meals for that busy (person). A serving window will offer to-go lunches, much like the food truck, if people don't have time to sit down."Burns also wants to sell retail-related items, including high-end imported European specialty foods and chocolates."This will be a great addition to the city," Burns said. "I'm excited to get started."Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.Sylvia Burns, who owns and operates the Bavarian Wagon at Jackson Street Pier in downtown Sandusky, recently received money from the Sandusky Business Grant Initiative to open a new restaurant, the Bavarian Wagon Wheel, in The Marketplace at Cooke.