Hofer's Bakery & Cafe
Stone-hearth bread, German tortes, and a breakfast worth planning around
The short answer
Hofer's is the closest thing Helen has to a real German bakery. Horst and Gerda Hofer came from Schwabach, Germany, in the late 1950s, opened their own bakery in 1973, and later set up a second location in Helen, in the former First National Bank of White County building on N Main St. Their son Ralph runs it now. The bread bakes in stone hearth ovens, and the cafe cooks family recipes brought from Germany.
Come for the pretzels and tortes in the bakery case, stay for breakfast or lunch in the cafe. One thing to plan around: the whole place is closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hours
| Day | Bakery | Breakfast | Lunch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8-5 | 8-11 | Until 3 |
| Tuesday | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Thursday | 8-5 | 8-11 | Until 3 |
| Friday | 8-5 | 8-11:30 | Until 3 |
| Saturday | 8-6 | 8-11:30 | Until 4 |
| Sunday | 8-5 | 8-11:30 | Until 3 |
From hofers.com and its cafe page. The site mentions special hours on holidays and weekends and notes closures on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so call 706-878-8200 for those days.
Breakfast
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| German Potato Pancakes | Three homemade pancakes with apple sauce |
| Biscuits and German Gravy | Two buttermilk biscuits under Nuremberg bratwurst gravy |
| Alpine French Toast | Thick-sliced Buttercrust bread, syrup and whipped cream |
| Belgian Waffle | Extra-thick malted waffle; pecan, strawberry or blueberry |
| Bavarian Cold Cut Breakfast | Smoked ham, jagerwurst, gelbwurst and mild cheese with bakery bread |
| Bauern Fruehstueck | Two eggs, roasted potatoes and Kassler (smoked pork chop) or Leberkaese |
| Bagel and lox | House bagel with smoked Scottish salmon, cream cheese, onions, capers and tomato |
| Veggie Hash | Zucchini, squash, peppers, onions and mushrooms in hash browns, baked with cheese, with two eggs |
Names and descriptions are from the breakfast menu PDF on hofers.com. The online menus don't list prices.
Lunch: sandwiches, schnitzel and goulash
Lunch runs until 3 PM on weekdays and Sunday and until 4 PM on Saturday. The sandwich menu is long, and the sandwich bread comes from the bakery. The grill menu adds German plates: Wiener, Jaeger and Zigeuner schnitzel, Sauerbraten, Rindsroulade (beef rolls stuffed with bacon, onion and gherkin), pan-fried rainbow trout, a Bavarian butcher's platter and a pair of bratwurst or knackwurst with a pretzel dumpling.
Soups include homemade spaetzle noodle soup and Hungarian goulash soup, and there's a Vegetarian Sandwich. The menu PDFs online aren't dated, so ask the cafe what's current.
What to order at lunch
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| The Reuben (the menu's best seller) | Corned beef, sauerkraut, melted Swiss and dressing on fresh rye |
| Schnitzel Delight | Breaded pork cutlet, open-faced on rye, with potato salad |
| Bratwurst or Knackwurst on a pretzel roll | With sauerkraut and kettle chips |
| Hot Pastrami on Rye | Shaved pastrami with spiced mustard |
| Hofer's Famous Poorboy | Roast beef, ham, salami, Swiss, pickle and spiced mustard on French bread |
| Wiener or Jaeger Schnitzel | From the grill menu, with potato salad or spaetzle and red cabbage |
| Sauerbraten | Marinated roast beef with homemade spaetzle and red cabbage |
| Hungarian Goulasch | Spicy beef stew over homemade German noodles |
| Gemuese Spaetzle | Zucchini, squash, onion, peppers and mushrooms baked with cheddar and Monterey Jack |
Tortes, strudel and coffee
The 2025 dessert and drink menu lists tortes (Black Forest, Sacher, hazelnut, Milano amaretto cream, rum-truffle and German chocolate), German apple strudel, a large cream puff, chocolate eclairs, chocolate and powdered-sugar cannoli, and Black Forest and Snickers cheesecake cups. German coffee is served by the cup, with whole-bean and ground coffee for sale.
The draft list includes Paulaner Oktoberfest, Hofbrau Pilsner, Erdinger Hefe Weiss and Dunkel, Paulaner Original Munich Lager and Miller Lite, with Sutter Home wines. Hofer's also takes wedding cake orders (see hofers.com) and ships mail-order bread and pastries; the weekly cutoff is Saturday at 6 PM Eastern.
Visitor tips
Mind the clock
The cafe kitchen closes at 3 PM (4 on Saturday), earlier than the bakery. If you want a sandwich, don't wait for the afternoon.
Fall weekends
Peak color is expected around the end of October and early November, and Oktoberfest runs through November 1. Go early or on a Monday or Thursday.
Take bread home
The breakfast menu serves Nora Mill grits as a side, and the bakery sells loaves and tortes to carry out.
Parking
The parking guide lists the free city lots east of Main Street and the private pay lots.
More to explore
Questions people ask
What days is Hofer's closed?
Tuesday and Wednesday. It's open Monday and Thursday through Sunday, and the site notes closures on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What time does Hofer's serve breakfast?
From 8 AM until 11 AM on Monday and Thursday, and until 11:30 AM Friday through Sunday. Lunch follows until 3 PM (4 PM on Saturday).
Does Hofer's ship?
Yes. It runs a mail-order program, with a weekly cutoff of Saturday at 6 PM Eastern. Holiday delivery times aren't guaranteed.
Related Imagery from Around Helen
