Face of the Island: Restaurateur Doreen Grambow-Knuth

You won first place in the OZ ice cream shop test in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Best ice cream shop in the entire state—that’s a fantastic honor. What’s your recipe for this success?

First and foremost, it’s clearly the ice cream. I have my father to thank for that—he makes it with incredible creativity and a whole lot of love. Customers also appreciate the quality. We don’t cut any corners there. No matter how busy the café gets, everything has to be perfect; every ice cream sundae should look picture-perfect. Then there’s certainly the way we treat people. Every guest is important to me, and we’re always ready to listen to their requests. We’ve practically grown into one big family with our customers. That’s what makes it so much fun for us. We have so many regulars, including vacationers. They come to see us every day and say goodbye when they leave after two weeks. At Christmas and Easter, we always get lots of mail—lovely cards and small gifts.

Café Moritz is a family business. You run the place together with your parents and your husband. How do you divide up the tasks?

My dad makes the ice cream, my mom bakes the cakes, my husband is in charge of the sundaes, and I’m the waitress (laughs). It’s actually pretty unusual that we work so well together as a family. Everyone’s involved, everyone pitches in. Of course, the guests can tell that we’re such a well-coordinated team. It’s amazing—even though we’re together 24 hours a day, we don’t get on each other’s nerves. We really are a top-notch family.

What ice cream flavors are exclusive to Café Moritz? Which cake creations are the most popular with guests?

All our flavors are milk-based, even the fruit ice cream. That’s what sets us apart from Italian gelaterias. We now also offer two or three vegan flavors—the trend is definitely growing. The vegan chocolate ice cream is an absolute hit—I actually developed it just for fun. For that, we use premium ingredients like extra-dark chocolate. The yogurt ice cream is also a hit. It’s low in calories, completely sugar-free, and tastes great. You can eat as much of it as you want without gaining weight. Sea buckthorn ice cream has also been very popular with customers for years. We always have 32 flavors available at any given time. Every year we develop three to four new flavors and see how they do. Some disappear after one season, while others become perennial favorites. If you ask me, we could ditch vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate—they’re boring; you can find them everywhere. I can think of more interesting options.
When it comes to cakes, the sea buckthorn cake has been the absolute favorite among guests for 17 years. We base our cake selection on the seasons. In the summer, we tend to offer fruitier varieties, while in the winter we use more nougat, marzipan, and egg liqueur.

Do you still enjoy eating ice cream yourself? What’s your favorite flavor?

Yes, every day! We all do! All flavors! I’ve never gotten tired of it. I don’t have a favorite flavor. I like them all.

You’re open all year round. Does that mean many islanders are among your fans, too?

We’ve managed to win over the islanders by now. At first, they just watched to see how things would go and were a little skeptical. But that was a long time ago. People come to us from all over the island, even from Greifswald or Anklam and the surrounding areas. Tourists are here year-round now. That’s changed drastically since 2004. In the early years, it was sometimes tough getting through the winter days. Now there’s plenty going on on the island even in winter, especially during the fall and spring breaks. Now I can keep the staff busy all winter long—unless there’s a COVID-19 outbreak.

Many people have used the COVID-19-related shutdown creatively. Have you come up with any new ideas for the café, too?

We’ve recently started offering bubble waffles with ice cream in all kinds of variations. The idea came from my daughter, who’d seen the trend on Facebook and Instagram. We immediately ordered a bubble waffle maker and started experimenting in our kitchen. It worked great right away and is a ton of fun. Customers can choose whatever they want on their waffle besides ice cream. Kids especially love putting together the most amazing creations—with fruit, chocolate bars, Smarties, marshmallows… The possibilities are endless.
Then we had another idea for how to pass the time during the lockdown. II had this flash of inspiration. We have a mobile ice cream truck that we sometimes use at harbor days, children’s festivals, or flea markets in the region. We’ve now set it up in front of our house on Koserower Hauptstraße and are selling the bubble waffles. It’s been a huge hit. People are so grateful for the treat that long lines keep forming. I’m also happy that I can finally be back in action. The lockdown was a total adjustment—I’ve always worked my whole life, around the clock, seven days a week. I love waking up in the morning and knowing: now I have to get going.

You used all that free time for long bike rides and hikes. What parts of Usedom did you rediscover?

Actually, during the first lockdown last spring, I realized how little I really know about the island. In the summer, I’m usually swamped, and in the winter, I tend to just cozy up at home. That’s when our son gave us a little nudge in the right direction. He’s a true island kid and showed us his favorite spots. We then packed a nice picnic and all set off on our bikes together. I really liked Gnitz and Loddiner Höft. Another time, we took a long loop from Pudagla, through Benz, all the way to Bansin. I didn’t know the Mölschow, Ziemitz, and Neeberg area at all either.

Thank you very much for the interview!