Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe

In 1975, Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe opened its doors to the Langston Boulevard community in Lee Heights Shopping Center (where Pastries By Randolph sits today). In 1988, after over a decade of success and growth in the community, Heidelberg moved a few blocks farther out on Langston Boulevard into their newly built, multistory bakery at the corner of Culpeper Street, where it remains today.

Growing up close to Heidelberg, Germany, owner Wolfgang Büchler knew from age five that he would be a baker, inspired by his uncle, who owned a local bakery. In his teens, Wolfgang apprenticed in baking and pastries for five years and was on track to become a part-owner at his uncle’s bakery. He and his uncle decided that further training in America would bring back skills to help the business grow. Wolfgang would get the training he needed in the United States but decided to open his shop in Arlington instead of returning to Germany. Though he knows he made the right decision, Wolfgang says that telling his uncle that he was not coming back was one of the hardest things he has ever done. 

During his first year of business, Wolfgang hired Carla, a relationship grew, and the two were married a few years later. Wolfgang says that as soon as they met, he knew he wanted to marry her. Born and raised here, Carla had never planned on running a European bakery and was studying to become a ballerina before fate intervened. Together, they have established a community staple that has brought extraordinary European-style breads and pastries, along with an abundance of other products, to multiple generations of Arlingtonians. 

Carla believes that Heidelberg became a staple of the community by being around long enough to be part of family traditions. They have also employed generations of locals and been involved in charity and school programs throughout the years. Wolfgang adds that their customers mean a lot to them and that the people can feel how much they care. He and Carla try to treat their customers as if they were “friends coming to their house.”

Carla and Wolfgang believe that legacy businesses like theirs make neighborhoods unique. Without these businesses, everything starts to look the same. They feel that their business offers consistency in the community and creates special and unique memories that keep people coming back. They enjoy having customers come back to visit them after moving away just so they have these experiences again. Heidelberg was and is a family-run legacy business. Through the years, all of Wolfgang and Carla’s kids and several extended family members have worked at the shop. These days, their son works with them full-time, ensuring another generation of family ownership and continued fond memories for the community.