Drescher’s Cafe (1904)

For my 50th post for Waterbury, Historic Buildings of Connecticut features a local landmark. In 1894, J. Alfred Drescher, an immigrant from Zurich, Switzerland, and Frederick Keil, who came from Mannheim, Germany, purchased “Miller’s Saloon,” which had opened in 1868. Frederick Keil had previously married the daughter of the previous owner, Charlie Miller. When Drescher and Keil retired in 1912, Drescher’s son Alfred, who had married Frederick Keil’s daighter, ran the business under the name Drescher and Keck with his partner, Michael Keck. After Keck died in 1944, the restaurant was known as Drescher’s and was run by the family until 1957. It has since continued in business with other owners. In 1982, an urban renewal project threatened the Drescher building, built in 1903-1904. The building was saved when it was moved from its old location on Harrison Alley to its current address at 25 Leavenworth Street.