‘Brat' back: Tasty Kraut returns following food trailer explosion
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Four weeks after the Tasty Kraut German cuisine food trailer exploded, the business has been brought back to life to serve San Angelo residents once again. Here's how the owners rebounded from a 'wurst'-case scenario.
The Tasty Kraut food trailer exploded during the night of March 23 while being stored at the Affordable Self Storage site on United States Highway 67. Although it was reported by the Dove Creek Fire Department that no one was injured by the blast, photos shared online by The Tasty Kraut showed that the trailer sustained extreme damage.
'There's nothing left,' the business said in a Facebook post published the morning after the explosion.
The Tasty Kraut — which Holger Buchwalder, husband of business owner Pia Buchwalder, told Concho Valley Homepage was his family's 'future here in the United States' — was only a few months old at the time of the explosion, having been opened by the Buchwalders in January 2025. The explosion occurred just after The Tasty Kraut's first week in San Angelo, with the business operating in Mertzon before that time.
RELATED: Concho Valley food trailer 'exploded' in storage
The loss didn't deter the Buchwalder family, however. Holger Buchwalder said that it is his wife's dream to provide West Texans a taste of Germany, a dream that has been decades in the making.
'She's a chef for over 30 years, so her dream is to bring German food to West Texas,' Holger Buchwalder said. 'So it's not only the business side of it … it's also fulfilling part of a dream.'
Holger Buchwalder shared that the people of San Angelo helped them along the way, with thousands of dollars in donations from a GoFundMe fundraiser assisting in the purchase of a new food trailer and support from the community aiding in the business's recovery. The Buchwalders also received support from overseas, as friends and family in Germany spurred them along.
Weeks after the explosion, it was announced that The Tasty Kraut was going to resume operations in a new food trailer on April 22, bringing back its usual menu of German foods as well as a new item: 'Bratkartoffeln,' also known as German fries.
Holger Buchwalder said that, with The Tasty Kraut now back in operation, the business will begin to spend more time in San Angelo. He said the explosion was a bump in the road for their food trailer.
'It was just one stone in our way, we just get over it and do it again,' Holger Buchwalder said.
The Buchwalders haven't forgotten the people who got them to this point, though. Holger Buchwalder stated that his family is making plans to give back to the San Angelo community. He also thanked the town's residents for the outpouring of care they received in the weeks following the explosion.
'I can't thank enough for all of the help and all of the support,' Holger Buchwalder said. 'I don't have any words to thank the people. That's why I want to come up with something to show appreciation.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Costco Members Cautioned Against Using Their Membership Card—Don't Use It As a REAL ID
Costco is a popular big-box membership warehouse club, offering discounted prices on brand-name merchandise in bulk and non-bulk sizes. Costco is actually the third-largest retailer in the world, only behind Walmart and Amazon, and is a Fortune 500 company. "With hundreds of locations worldwide, Costco provides a wide selection of merchandise, plus the convenience of specialty departments and exclusive member services, all designed to make your shopping experience a pleasurable one," the company states on their website. To shop at Costco, members have to own a membership card. The Costco "Gold Star Membership" card includes two card and the ability to shop online and in warehouses. For those who want to up their game, the Costco "Executive Membership" package also includes an annual 2% reward and Costco services discounts. But, Costco customers are being told not to use their membership card for one specific thing. The TSA is showing their frustration with travelers who are not showing them a REAL ID to take a flight, and they don't want passengers to think that their Costco card counts as a proper REAL ID. "In a Facebook post shared on June 4, the TSA stated a Costco membership card is not, in any way, an acceptable form of identification to get on a plane. Yes, people are actually trying to use their Costco cards to get on aiplanes. 'We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person," the TSA stated in their post, "but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not." Beginning May 7, the majority of adult citizens taking a flight in the U.S. must show either a passport or upgraded identification card that meets federal REAL ID standards. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has information for each state about scheduling appointments and also provides the types of documents Members Cautioned Against Using Their Membership Card—Don't Use It As a REAL ID first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 6, 2025
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Mercedes CEO Has a Trump Tariff Deal That Could Reshape US-EU Auto Trade
Hours before an event in Michigan on April 29, President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at reducing the impact of trade tariffs on the automotive industry. One order prevents automakers, who face 25% tariffs on auto imports, from being subject to additional levies on materials. The other order allows automakers to apply for tariff relief, which will reduce a portion of the costs associated with their imported components. However, these benefits will be gradually phased out over the next two years. During a rally that night in Michigan, Trump described this move as providing "a little flexibility" to the automotive industry, hoping to persuade automakers to produce their cars and components in the United States. He said, "We gave them a little time before we slaughter them if they don't do this. They're going to make so much money. They're going to have so many jobs." Despite the developments, German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz withdrew its earnings guidance for 2025 during the announcement of its Q1 results. This decision was driven by uncertainty regarding the potential impact of President Trump's tariffs on imported vehicles. The company also stated that if auto tariffs remained at their current levels, it would decrease profit margins by 300 basis points on cars and 100 basis points on vans. In a new interview with German business publication Der Spiegel, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said that while he is looking at different scenarios, the kind of investments he has to make are ones that could last for decades, rather than ones made "in response to a volatile situation" such as the current US-EU tariff situation that is currently unfolding. Recognizing that the current administration has the impression "that we in Europe are closed to certain issues and only demand openness where we have strengths," the CEO proposed a deal meant to balance its imports and exports. In his proposal, Källenius would allow duty-free imports of U.S.-built cars into Europe in exchange for tariff waivers on an equal number of vehicles exported by EU automakers to the U.S., adding that it would alleviate and fulfill its desire to reindustrialize and become an attractive destination for companies to set up factories for exported goods. "For every car that leaves the USA or Europe, a car from the other side comes in duty-free," Källenius told Spiegel. "We have put this idea to both sides, and it is a possible component of the negotiations between the USA and the EU." Such a solution would work for a company like Mercedes-Benz. In the same interview, Källenius noted that Mercedes "is a major producer" of cars in the United States, adding that the company builds and sells around 350,000 vehicles in the country, which could count for consideration in trade talks. "But the models we build and sell [in the U.S.] are not the same," Källenius told Spiegel. "Two-thirds of the vehicles from our plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, are exported to 150 countries worldwide. We therefore contribute to a more balanced trade balance for the USA. We believe this should be taken into account in the negotiations." Källenius's idea of rewarding U.S. exports is roughly on the same wavelength as similar ideas proposed by other automotive CEOs. Previously, Ford CEO Jim Farley raised the idea that automakers like Ford should get credit for building cars in the United States that are shipped overseas for international consumption, noting that it is "essential" that the federal government come up with policies that encourage manufacturers to build cars for export, adding that it exports nearly as many vehicles as its brings in. "So many of the vehicles we build here are exported around the globe," Farley said. "Shouldn't we get credit for that?" Around the same time Farley made those comments, the export of some high-ticket models to China, including the F-150 Raptor, Mustang, Bronco, and Lincoln Navigator, was halted due to retaliatory tariffs as high as 150% on imported vehicles. For what it's worth, German automakers like Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have a lot of leverage for a potential U.S. tariff deal, especially if they propose that German automakers receive credits based on the number of vehicles they produce in the United States. These aren't small potatoes, either. BMW alone manufactures some of its highest-volume models, such as the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM, at its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant, which serves both U.S. and international markets. According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, BMW is the largest automotive exporter by value in the U.S., shipping "more than $10 billion" of cars in 2024. American hands assemble these cars, no matter the badge or its supposed country of origin. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sunset World Group Trains Its Kitchen Staff in Cooperation with the German Organization Senior Expert Service
CANCÚN, Mexico, June 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the Culinary Team and kitchen staff at Sunset Royal and Sunset Marina hotels of the Sunset World Group were trained in haute cuisine and pastry making, guided by two chefs from the German organization Senior Expert Service: Norbert Winkler, an expert in European cuisine, and Giordano Giovanni Bottignole, an expert pastry chef. At Sunset Royal, the training focused on the most authentic Western flavors and included the preparation of beef Wellington, chicken cordon bleu, pork roulette, beef bourguignon, sauerkraut, and minestrone soup, among others, focusing on baking and fermentation techniques. This training was primarily provided to the buffet and dinner staff. As for Sunset Marina, the training was provided to pastry chefs and consisted of improving techniques such as chocolate decoration, molding, and fortifying flavors and textures, preparing, among other famous desserts, apple strudel, chocolate volcano, mousses, plum tart, Italian meringue, and French sponge cake. Senior Expert Service is Germany's leading volunteer organization for retired experts and executives in all sectors to share and exchange knowledge and experiences internationally under a "help-for-do-it-yourself" approach. Senior Expert Service has been present in Mexico since 2017. Sunset World Group is a Mexican family business founded by some of the pioneers of Cancun who helped turn it into the most sought-after tourist destination worldwide. Sunset World Group has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry and a sincere passion for environmental conservation, which is why it implemented an Energy Efficiency Program by substituting supply technologies in its six hotels in Cancun and The Riviera Maya. In addition, all Sunset World hotels are supplied with clean and renewable energy produced at Mexican wind farms and geothermal plants, which has considerably reduced the company's carbon footprint. The activity and gastronomy programs in all six hotels are updated and expanded constantly for the enjoyment of all family members, since Sunset World Group always focuses on providing the best vacation experiences for its members and guests. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Sunset World Resorts & Vacation Experiences Sign in to access your portfolio
