Wolfgang Zwiener, who came to the United States from Germany in 1960 and spent almost four decades working as a waiter at Peter Luger in Brooklyn before founding what became an empire of 35 steakhouses, died on January 23 at his home in Honolulu. He was 85.
Mr. Luger’s son Peter said the cause of death was lung cancer.
Wolfgang’s Steakhouse opened its doors to diners in 2004 in what was formerly the Vanderbilt Hotel, which offered the benefit of a very striking main dining room with vaulted ceilings, tiled in blue and white, a designated landmark and a glory to behold.
FBT and The Travelist Editorial Director Jonathan Spira and Publisher David Goldes were among the first patrons when Wolfgang’s opened up, situated diagonally across from their Park Avenue office. Mr. Zwiener would stand outside in his elegant suit, silk pocket square and buffed leather shoes, and his trademark crisp mustache, trimmed as straight and even above his upper lip as the teeth of a comb, and talk to passers-by, and Spira was one of those with whom he spoke. As Spira relates it, he responded to Mr. Zwiener in German, and the two hit it off. A few days later, Spira and Goldes crossed Park Avenue to enter Mr. Zwiener’s inner sanctum and were enthralled by just about everything.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
