STEFAN TRUMMER

A native of Austria, Stefan Trummer brings a deep-rooted passion for hospitality—and a global perspective—to Trummer’s on Main. In 2009, Stefan and his wife Victoria opened the award-winning restaurant together, blending European sensibility with Virginia hospitality. Over the past sixteen years, Stefan has become widely recognized as a leading voice in the regional cocktail scene, earning praise for a beverage program that is both creative and timeless.

Hospitality runs in Stefan’s blood. Coming from a family with more than 100 years in the restaurant business, he left Austria to travel extensively throughout Europe, immersing himself in diverse culinary traditions, hotel culture, and cocktail styles. His journey included time in some of Europe’s most luxurious hotels, where he trained alongside renowned chefs, and an in-depth study of the iconic mixologists who shaped Europe’s cocktail culture of the 1960s and 1970s. That foundation ultimately led him to New York City in 2000—and eventually back to Clifton, where his experience and vision helped define Trummer’s distinctive identity.

Outside the restaurant, Stefan is a devoted sports dad, spending much of his time cheering on his two boys. When not behind the bar or on the sidelines, he can usually be found traveling—often following wherever his wife’s latest adventure happens to take him—and finding inspiration in great drinks, great food, and great places around the world.

Trummer quickly learned both the front and back of the house taking positions at Citarella the Restaurant, alongside his now wife and business partner Victoria. During time spent at Masa and Bouley, he added service execution and expertise in international foods and ingredients to his repertoire. After discovering his enthusiasm and talent for mixing cocktails behind the bar, word in New York spread about the Austrian’s use of fresh ingredients and twists on conventional cocktails. This made him a uniquely qualified candidate for the General Manager and Beverage Director at Bouley ‘upstairs’ by renowned Chef David Bouley. Trummer’s unconventional cocktails garnered praise for the restaurants in various media including being recognized as one of the “Top 10 Bar Chefs to Watch” of 2007 in Beverage Media and an inclusion on Bloomberg TV’s “Most Luxury Cocktails” special.

Trummer then opened his own restaurant and bar, Trummer Home, with his brother, on Long Island from 2002-2004. After choosing to give up the seasonal beach business, the Trummer brothers went their separate ways and Stefan went on to consult for bars including Tommy Tardie’s Ultra in New York City and L2 in Georgetown. Continuing to evolve in the bar and beverage consulting business, Trummer acted as a consultant for several high-end liquor and wine companies, as well as for Red Bull brand-owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s one-of-a- kind exclusive glass enclosed restaurant, Hanger 7 in Austria. He crafted cocktails while celebrity chefs from all over the world, including Gray Kunz and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, took turns creating a menu for the restaurant.

In late 2008, Stefan and Victoria Trummer bid their goodbye to New York to head south to their new home. They acquired the building formerly known as The Hermitage Inn and continue to preserve its historic presence in the Old Clifton historic community, giving Clifton a piece of their cultivated palates.

At Trummer’s Restaurant, Trummer combines his New York City experience with the charm of historic Clifton by stimulating guest’s senses with excellent food, always-intriguing unique cocktails and true European hospitality.