Schera’s will celebrate their Grand Opening on January 20th, 2007

Frederique Boudouani and Brian Bruening recently acquired the landmark eatery located in downtown Elkader,
at the corner of Bridge and Main St. formerly known as the Keystone Restaurant. In doing so the men and the
restaurant are about to embark on a new journey.

The new restaurant will be named Schera’s. The name was inspired by Frederique’s sister, Schera. The name Schera is
also inspired by the fictitious Sassanid Queen, Scheherade the heroine from the Middle Eastern literary epic
entitled “A Thousand and One Nights.” In order for Scheherade to avoid execution she tells her capture, King Sharyar
a suspenseful story every night for a1001 Nights. Each morning she is kept alive because the King has been left not
knowing the result of the cliff hanger. Familiar stories that have been derived from this medieval piece of literature include,
Aladdin and Ali Babba and the Forty Thieves. 

Boudouani is of French & Algerian heritage. His father was a diplomat with the United Nations, as a result Frederique
 has lived around the world.   He has earned a PhD in Computer Engineering from M.I.T.  Up and until recently
Frederique has, worked in freelance web design and as a computer services consultant.  

Bruening was born and raised in New Hampton, IA .   After obtaining a Master in Fine Arts degree
 in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston, for the past seven years he has worked in college admissions.

Because of Frederique’s Algerian roots and Elkader’s connection to Algeria through its name sake, Abdelkader the
duo had a natural affinity to the area.  “We were originally interested in Elkader because of the town’s name,”
explains Bruening, “Abdelkader is the "George Washington" of Algeria.  But we ultimately decided to settle
here because of the people and their involvement in the success of their community,” explains Bruening.
 

The two guys have always loved to cook and to entertain and even did some catering work in the Boston area.
Therefore, operating a restaurant together was not a big stretch.

On Jan 20th, the new owners of Schera’s will unveil their new combined menu, featuring local favorites and North African dishes.  They will also offer a
special lunch menu for working people so that they can get their food faster.

 Schera’s adds a holiday twist to their restaurant offerings by Joleen Jansen
Brian Bruening and Frederique Boudouani , have been in business for just about a year as owners of Schera’s Restaurant and Bar. The two have what many would say found their groove and are in full swing of implementing their successful food business strategy.  The two explain, a year ago after purchasing the former Keystone Restaurant and moving to Elkader from the East Coast, they spent several months easing into their plan for the popular downtown Elkader establishment.

“We needed to spend some time figuring out how this place works,” explains Frederique. Brian responds, “For example, we moved here from Boston and you know people go out to dinner differently here.” Frederique explains people on the East Coast are accustomed to eating much later compared to the 5pm to 7pm time period Iowans seem to enjoy.

After studying their market of customers the two began to introduce a new menu.  The new fine dining menu is constantly evolving but essentially is served in the dining room on Friday and Saturday night. A lighter fare sandwich menu is offered during all of the restaurants open hours which are 11am-9pm Wednesday through Saturday and 11-2 on Sunday. The fine dining menu is a combination of traditional American favorites and North African Cuisine.  An example of an entrée on the current menu is “Algerian Seafood Trio with Chermoula and Couscous. “ Bruening explains this featured fine dining menu item is composed of shrimp, scallops and Ahi tuna marinated in complex, traditional, North African, seafood called Chermoula. The marinade contains as many as 30 spices and flavors but the main ingredients are saffron and cilantro.

Now that the restaurant’s menu has been established and decorating improvements have been made to the dining area. The two are addressing another part of their plan and that is to roll out a modified, holiday, catering offering.  This holiday season Schera’s is offering, “Holiday Treats From Schera’s.” The two realize holiday season preparations can be overwhelming for their patrons. So in an effort to save some time for their valued customers, they came up with the idea to help the willing in the kitchen.

During the holiday season customers can order from a product list of items like; gourmet cakes, breads such as Cranberry Orange or Zucchini, unique cookies, desserts like Tiramisu, appetizers, side dishes like Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes or hot vegetables and entrees for example, Prime Rib and St. Louis Ribs. Orders must be placed in advanced by calling the restaurant, 563-245-1992.

Brian grew up on a farm near, New Hampton, Iowa and began cooking at a young age. “We learned early how to fend for ourselves,” explains Bruening. That is when he became familiar with working in the kitchen. After moving away to college he found it difficult to make it home for home cooked holiday meals. He didn’t want to give up the tradition of enjoying holiday food, so on his own he began preparing holiday meals for himself and friends. He had fun trying new things and his refined skills,”sprang out of necessity and desire to try new things.” Eventually after meeting Frederique he began adding flavorful North African and French twists to his creations. Over time the two have become culinary experts for preparing tempting holiday treats.

 Both Brian and Frederique have spent time working in restaurants. Neither of them enjoyed working on holidays. Therefore the two have agreed to not operate their restaurant on holidays in order to give their help the day off to spend time with their families. Their new holiday product offerings are their ways to still participate in the business world but afford themselves and their employees’ time off on the actual holiday.

Schera’s will present a holiday food show during the Sunday December 2nd downtown Elkader Retail Open House from 1 – 4pm.  Interested customers are invited to stop in and sample from their ,“Holiday Treats from Schera’s,” menu.
Cutline for photo: Elegantly displayed here are two of the Schera’s Holiday Treats creations. On the left is the Triple Berry Cheese Cake which is made up of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. On the right is the Four Layer Carrot Cake with a ginger & orange cream cheese frosting and accented with candied carrot strips.