HERMITAGE HOUSE SMORGASBORD
Home of the Fritter
About Us
Founded in 1975, Margit Prosser opened The Hermitage House Smorgasbord, which moved to its current location in 1995. Three family generations share in keeping the restaurant running today. Orlin "Pops" Prosser died in 2001 but the family still carries on the business that he started with his wife.
They met during World War II when Margit was displaced from her family in Czechoslovakia and washed dishes in a U.S. Army kitchen in Vienna. Pops was a soldier who worked as a chef and ordered her a pair of combat boots for her bare feet. They were married in 1950 in Vienna, Austria.
They settled in Pennsylvania, but soon after Pops was sent to fight in the Korean War. He returned home safely and the whole family, including 3 sons and 1 daughter, started work at Schindler's Family Restaurant. Margit still recites stories of the training and hard work that they endured. This laid the foundation for starting their own restaurant years later.
The family moved to Nashville in 1971, while Bob attended David Lipscomb University. It took everything they had to make the move possible including selling their home and auctioning off all of their belongings. It took $10,000 to start a partnership in a restaurant called the Country House Smorgasbord. Located in an old farm house on a 12 acre farm on Dickerson Road, they co-owned this restaurant with another family until 1975.
Determined to keep her dream alive, Margit and her family took yet another risk and opened their own family restaurant. The Hermitage House Smorgasbord started in an old white house on Lebanon Pike in Hermitage, close to The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson. It was at this original location until 1995 when the family decided to purchase a prime piece of real estate just across the Stones River Bridge in Donelson. The family business is managed by Margit, Bob, Tim, Sandy, and Peter Prosser. While not all employees are family, most of the staff has worked for the Prosser's throughout high school and college and even return to help during the busy holidays.
Margit Prosser is well known throughout the community for her public speaking, church, and community involvement. She boasts of her love for God and America.
"I love this country. It is giving and forgiving. It has a God-made quality, not a man-made quality."
They met during World War II when Margit was displaced from her family in Czechoslovakia and washed dishes in a U.S. Army kitchen in Vienna. Pops was a soldier who worked as a chef and ordered her a pair of combat boots for her bare feet. They were married in 1950 in Vienna, Austria.
They settled in Pennsylvania, but soon after Pops was sent to fight in the Korean War. He returned home safely and the whole family, including 3 sons and 1 daughter, started work at Schindler's Family Restaurant. Margit still recites stories of the training and hard work that they endured. This laid the foundation for starting their own restaurant years later.
The family moved to Nashville in 1971, while Bob attended David Lipscomb University. It took everything they had to make the move possible including selling their home and auctioning off all of their belongings. It took $10,000 to start a partnership in a restaurant called the Country House Smorgasbord. Located in an old farm house on a 12 acre farm on Dickerson Road, they co-owned this restaurant with another family until 1975.
Determined to keep her dream alive, Margit and her family took yet another risk and opened their own family restaurant. The Hermitage House Smorgasbord started in an old white house on Lebanon Pike in Hermitage, close to The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson. It was at this original location until 1995 when the family decided to purchase a prime piece of real estate just across the Stones River Bridge in Donelson. The family business is managed by Margit, Bob, Tim, Sandy, and Peter Prosser. While not all employees are family, most of the staff has worked for the Prosser's throughout high school and college and even return to help during the busy holidays.
Margit Prosser is well known throughout the community for her public speaking, church, and community involvement. She boasts of her love for God and America.
"I love this country. It is giving and forgiving. It has a God-made quality, not a man-made quality."
food for thought
7000 apple fritters/week
6000 pieces chicken/week
300 seats available
110 parking spaces
30 item salad bar
20 item hot food bar
12 family members
6 banquet rooms
1 American Dream
