STEFAN TRUMMER
Co-Owner
As Co-Owner, Manager and Cocktail Creator at Trummer’s Restaurant, Stefan Trummer is a man of many talents. After opening the award-winning restaurant with his wife Victoria in 2009, the Austrian native quickly made a name for himself in the realm of master mixologists and restaurateurs and has gained praise for one of Virginia’s most loved dining destinations.
Trummer’s depth of knowledge about the restaurant business goes beyond skin-deep. With a strong passion for experiencing the world and a family history in the restaurant business dating back over 100 years, Trummer left his hometown of Austria to travel throughout Europe. During his travels Trummer experienced unique variations and flavors different countries utilized in both restaurant concepts and cocktail concoctions. Trummer spent time in some of the most luxurious hotels in Europe, training with renowned chefs, which he followed with extensive research on celebrated mixologists responsible for creating the cocktail culture of the sixties and seventies in Europe, until he eventually landed in New York City in 2000.
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.