Not pictured, Mikey
Dan has been a bartender at The Batdorf for over two years now. You can find him bartending inside the restaurant and outdside at Pub Tiki. His favorite drink is a "Good IPA," and his favorite part of the job is interacting with guests. Dan enjoys working at the Batdorf because of the great atmosphere and the earthy attitude the Rotunda Brothers bring to the operation.
A Casual Afternoon with Batdorf Owner Dave Rotunda
The Batdorf Restaurant is located on Route 422 at 245 West Main Street in Annville and is quickly becoming one of the most sought after destinations in the Hershey area. With rich history, a unique back-story, live entertainment and a one-of-a-kind PubTiki, Batdorf is a must visit restaurant in central Pennsylvania. To understand the success of the Batdorf Restaurant, it is essential to know how the restaurant came to be and how the Rotunda family has stayed true to its goals.
Dave Rotunda was a 1995 graduate of Annville High School and continued with education in graphic design after graduation. Dave speaks of a difficult time in life, “I quickly realized that after I got my degree in graphic design that this was not what I wanted to do with my life.” This is something I’m sure many of us can sympathize with. Fortunately, Dave had a spectacular idea; a balloon yo-yo business. He thought it would be the perfect thing to sell at Hersheypark and in fact he waited on and off for five months to speak with their merchandise department. After speaking with the right person, they indicated they would call him back the following week. Three weeks later, they approached him and told him we would need three carts and all of the supplies…in three days. Knowing how long it took to even get in front of the right people, Dave gladly agreed and his balloon yo-yo business was born.
Due to the fact that Hersheypark is very seasonal, Dave and his brothers Lou and Mike always had to work in restaurants in the off-season to make ends meet. While the retail oriented Hersheypark gig was fantastic for single men in their 20s, they soon realized that they would never be able to support a family on the income they received. Opening their own restaurant would be the next step. The Rotunda family was able to scrape together enough capital to secure a lease on a restaurant and renovate the building. Since the restaurant was in their hometown of Annville, it seemed that they know enough people to sustain a business. Dave speaks about this time, “(The first year) went really well for not having a liquor license. Eighteen months in, business really started to fall off. We needed a liquor license.”
Dave, Lou, and Mike were able to secure a liquor license and business returned to a successful level. Unfortunately, the owner of the property escalated their rent over the course of time to reflect their success, which any restaurant owner can tell you is a detriment to the bottom line. When the lease was up on the old building, the Rotunda’s were committed to buying a property. This property is the one that the Batdorf Restaurant currently occupies.
The Batdorf sits on an extremely historic site in Annville. Here is some history about the site at 245 West Main Street. The new Batdorf Restaurant is located at the historic Washington House Tavern. The parcel of land on which the building sits was deeded in 1747 to Andrew Miller, the father of Abraham Miller, who founded the town of Annville and whose wife is its namesake. The original proprietors of the parcel were the Penn Brothers, Thomas and Richard, the sons of William Penn.
The parcel of land passed from one owner to another, but around 1788, a structure was built for which a tavern license was procured from Dauphin County, to operate a "public house," the old English term for an inn or tavern. The owner at that time was John Eberhard Bender and he called his tavern the Washington House. George Washington had just become our nation's First President and Mr. Eberhard wished to honor him in this way.
The building has had numerous owners since then and was opened mostly as a tavern or lodging house, not always having a good reputation. It also served as a general store and even a shoe store, which closed in 1958. In 1984, William Margut purchased the property and later sold it to his son, Scott. Scott Margut made some nice renovations to the building in the early 2000's, before selling it to the present owners, the Rotunda Brothers, in April 2007.
The menu at the Batdorf is one that Dave calls “contemporary American cuisine” with roots stemming from their family, which is Mexican and Italian. The Batdorf style comes from the Rotunda family but also offers contemporary classics. To view the full menu of the Batdorf, check out their website at BatdorfRestaurant.com. Dave is also proud to have two amazing chefs, Head Chef Mike Finkel and a Johnson and Wales trained Sous Chef, Dan Branton.
One of the things that Dave is most proud of is the craft beer selection. The restaurant has 30 draft selections and over 100 bottle selections. Dave noted that central Pennsylvania consumers require beers like Miller Lite, Coors Light, and Yuengling Lager to be on draft at all times. But Dave devotes many of his taps to seasonal brews and IPA’s. His criteria for selecting brews? Beer Advocate and Rate Beer.com ratings must be from 80 – 100. He likes to have a regular rotation of craft beers so the consumers have plenty to choose from. The Batdorf also has a wine draft system for those that “prefer the vine” as they put it. They also have a cutting-edge drink menu in which each cocktail is unique to the Batdorf.
Another unique aspect of the Batdorf is their one-of-a-kind PubTiki, which is a year-round deck that offers outdoor seating in the warmer months and insulated glass doors for the cooler months. There are also a variety of other rooms such as the Hearth Room, the Mustard Room, the Copper Room (which seats 40 and can be rented for private parties), the main bar, and a loft about the main bar (which seats 30). The Batdorf also offers live piano on Thursdays from 7 – 10 with Roy Lefever and Fridays from 6 – 9 with Dale Rotunda. These live piano players offer a perfect setting for a date night or a relaxing atmosphere for a night out with the family.
The Batdorf also offers quite a number of daily food and drink specials. For more information about these specials, check out their website at: BatdorfRestaurant.com/events/foodspecials.
With the quality of the food, the ample selection of beer and spirits, the history of the building, the Pub Tiki, the live entertainment and the daily food and drink specials, it is clear that the Batdorf Restaurant is a gem in central Pennsylvania and should be a destination for any occasion.
Article Written by: Paul Miller PaulMillerBlog.com • LinkedIn
Interview and Photography by: Bartley Kaminski KollisionMedia.com
