Opening on March 20th in the East Village, Döner Haus is a passion project from Nikolaus von Solodkoff that brings real German-style Döner kebabs to New York City. Nikolaus, born in Germany, moved to New York City in 2010 and always dreamed of bringing “the real German Döner” to the US.
The German Döner originated in the 1950’s when Turkish immigrants arrived in Germany and created their own version of the kebab using German ingredients alongside Turkish seasonings and flatbread. Döner Haus is the product of tireless research – everything has been meticulously planned to ensure an affordable, consistent, and high-quality product that is served just minutes after ordering.
To bring the concept to life, Nikolaus partnered with restaurant industry veterans A2Z Restaurant Consulting, who have launched hundreds of restaurants and fast casual concepts over the last two decades. The Döner Haus team began with laying out each aspect of the business and hiring chefs to create authentic and healthy kebabs, perfected through several iterations of tastings with 100 taste testers each. Together, they collaborated to create the restaurant as a flagship model for franchising.
Döner Haus is a small, walk-up storefront with a kitchen designed for efficiency, with one side catering to window service customers and the other exclusively catering to delivery. Döner Haus utilizes five top-of-the-line gyro broilers, three reserved for in-person customers and two for online orders. This way, there is no interruption of workflow during peak hours.
Döner Haus will only offer three menu items: Döner Kebab, Döner Box and Haus Fries. The main focus of the limited menu is to deliver healthy fast-food. All of Döner Haus’s gyro cones are produced exclusively for them by a German-Turkish manufacturer. Their Beef Döner, uses 100% Choice Top Round Inside Greater Omaha Beef that is cut into thin slices, marinated for 48 hours, and then stacked together. Also offered is Chicken Döner, made from leg meat and marinated for 48 hours, and a Vegan Döner will be available soon. All the gyro cones have no fillers of any kind, such as wheat or soy, they are 100% meat and 100% halal.
Döner kebab is a crispy Turkish style bread-pocket made specifically for Döner Haus overstuffed with the customer’s choice of meat, layered with locally sourced vegetables, and lathered with garlic sauce; Döner Box includes a choice of shaved meat served over Haus Fries and salad; and Haus Fries, fries made crispy and with a signature German-Turkish seasoning.
Döner Haus will offer several promotions for its opening, including discounts for all uniformed city workers and a midnight happy hour starting at 12AM to closing time to service patrons of the many bars, clubs, and restaurants nearby.
Döner Haus is located at 240 East 14th Street, New York, NY 10003. Hours: Sunday through Thursday: 11am to 1am and Friday and Saturday: 11am to 3am.
