Boyd and Wurthmann is one of the oldest continuously operated restaurants in Amish Country.
Location: Main Street (U.S. 62/State Route 39) in Berlin, a Holmes County village in the heart of northeast Ohio’s Amish Country.
Provenance: Boyd and Wurthmann began as a grocery store opened by Paul and Mary Hummel in 1938. Dale Boyd and Herman Wurthmann purchased the store in 1940 and installed a small lunch counter, where they served sandwiches. Expanded to offer breakfast and dinner in the 1950s, the restaurant soon became a local favorite for Amish-style meals and homemade pies. In the 1980s, tables and booths were added to increase seating capacity for Amish Country visitors, who appreciated the restaurant’s good food and homey atmosphere. After four decades in business, Boyd and Wurthmann sold the restaurant, which subsequently had a series of owners until Dennis Mullet purchased it in 2004.
Significance: One of the oldest continuously operated restaurants in Amish Country, Boyd and Wurthmann is a Berlin institution — a popular destination for residents and tourists alike.
Currently: Members of the Mullett family operate Boyd and Wurthmann Restaurant and recruit its employees from the region’s Amish-Mennonite community. Locals regularly meet and eat at the round table in the front of the restaurant, and visitors enjoy sipping a cup of coffee — which still costs 75 cents — at its original 1940s lunch counter. “One of our draws is that people want to get a sense of the local culture,” says Manager Benson Beachy. “We try to befriend visitors and make them feel welcome.”
Boyd and Wurthmann’s menu of comfort foods ranges from homemade cinnamon rolls to liver and onions, but two of its signature dishes are the BW Breakfast, which features house-made home fries and sausage gravy, and the Hot Sandwich, which is the restaurant’s version of a Manhattan: “A perfect blend of hot roast beef and homemade bread, mashed potatoes, and gravy,” says Beachy. Boyd and Wurthman also offers about 20 different kinds of pie every day. Brown Bag Apple and peanut butter are on the menu year-round, while flavors such as peach cream and red raspberry cream are available seasonally.
It’s a little-known fact that: On Feb. 16, 2019, Boyd and Wurthmann will serve candlelight suppers featuring entrees such as prime rib and chicken alfredo. “We’ll make it a special night for enjoying a nice meal with your valentine,” says Beachy.
