Franklin Square Restaurant Guide

The Plattduetsche Park Restaurant & Caterers can trace its beginning to the year 1883, when the Plattduetsche Volksfest Vereen of Brooklyn and vicinity was formed. This society of immigrants from the flatlands of northern Germany (which is the meaning of plattduetsche) was created out of necessity for the welfare and support of its members. In those days, if you were injured or sick and couldn't work, then you were not able to feed or take care of your family. By belonging to a society such as this one, you would receive a daily stipend in case of hardship. Membership in the society also provided a place to gather with other people from northern Germany to talk and preserve heritage and traditions handed down from older generations. The society adopted as its motto "Eendracht makt Macht" or "In Unity is Strength" and the symbol of the beehive - although each individual bee is small, together they can accomplish amazing things.

To finance the organization, yearly beer festivals were held at various restaurants and beer gardens with raffles and shooting contests. In fact, the Plattduetsche Volksfest Vereen raised enough money to finance the purchase of land to build a hospital. The German Hospital Corporation was spun off independently once it was built and still stands today as Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. Members of the society could receive free healthcare at the clinic as well as any necessary hospitalization or surgery.

In the early 1900s, the real estate boom in Brooklyn wiped out many of the restaurants that had large beer gardens and open outdoor areas. This made holding the yearly fund-raising festivals difficult, so members of the Plattduetsche Volksfest Vereen began to look east for property to buy. A German farmer in Franklin Square sold them his land, which they divided into two parcels.