LAWRENCE, Indiana — Just one swinging door keeps you "IN-Lawrence" before transporting you to Germany.
It also takes just one inhale while walking inside to be hit with an overwhelming sense of warmth and coziness as the smell of fudge overtakes all of your senses.
This is exactly the type of reaction Heidelberg Haus owner Juergen Jungbauer, known by friends and customers as "JJ," wants when entering his authentic German store.
JJ has made it his mission for half of a century to bring a slice of Germany to Indiana.
It is no secret that Fort Benjamin Harrison has left behind a legacy of cultural diversity in the town of Lawrence, and JJ’s Heidelberg Haus is no exception.
JJ made his journey from Heidelberg, Germany, to Fort Ben to be a pastry chef in the military.
After serving in the military, he began to build his own spot enriched with German history, culture and food right in the center of fast food restaurants and gas stations along Pendleton Pike.
“A German café is just completely different,” JJ said. “You’re going in a place where it’s overwhelming, and believe me…my store is overwhelming!”
There may not be a word to give enough context to just how packed to the brim the store is. JJ said he has over 400 gnomes throughout the store, museum, café and German grocery store…and it definitely feels like there are well over 1,000 of them.
“Actually, I wanted Lawrence to be famous for gnomes. Carmel is famous for roundabouts, you know, but the city fathers haven’t caught on yet,” JJ said.
While the sheer force of gnomes throughout the building are enough to fill the walls, there are thousands upon thousands of German knick-knacks not just on the walls, but on the floor, ceiling, floating through the air and even outside the building. JJ even mentioned that he thinks there are over 800 steins around the store.
“We are like five stores in one,” JJ said. “We are a bakery, a little bit restaurant, a little café, we are a little grocery.”
Don’t forget that pretty much everything you see, touch and maybe even smell, is on sale.
He’s had multiple offers, and customers ask him to move and expand the German hotspot to other cities.
“Everybody wants me to move to Carmel, Fishers, the airport, I said, ‘Oh no, we’re just fine here,'” JJ said.
JJ is perfectly content with keeping the home of his gnomes "IN-Lawrence."
“I just love it,” JJ said.
Small business resources
For those interested in starting their own small business in "IN-Lawrence" like JJ, here are a few helpful resources: