Lavor and Barbara Neuenswander are the owners of three Wienerschnitzel restaurants in the Bay Area with their newest at 5861 Gibraltar Drive in Hacienda Business Park.

They opened their first store in Livermore in February, 1970. "The Livermore store is my baby," says Barbara. Her other babies, four daughters, have been an integral part of the business. The youngest Neuenswander girl was only seven at the time they opened the Livermore store and she was allowed to work in the back of the restaurant assisting with food preparation.

The two oldest daughters were looking for their first part time jobs and Barbara says, "we decided then that it would be nice to get into business for ourselves so that we could all work together."

Lavor Neuenswander has many years of accounting and business experience. Originally from Idaho, Lavor has an MBA from the University of Southern California and an accounting degree from Stanford. Lavor worked for the government for 25 years and the family lived in Washington D.C. for many years.

Two daughters have followed in his footsteps and have pursued careers in the accounting field. Gail is a CPA for the Pleasanton firm, Gielow & Lajala; and Sherri has a Master's degree in accounting and works for a firm in Walnut Creek.

Daughters Kathy and Diane work in the family business with Diane handling all the accounts for the three stores as well as managing the Livermore store with her husband Rick. Kathy and her husband Randy are active in the operations of the second store in Milpitas.

The Wienerschnitzel store in Hacienda Business Park opened in October, 1985. Lavor heard about the park and contacted them about coming into the park two years ago. "I thought it would be a nice place to have a store."

The store on Gibraltar Drive is one of the newer, upscale models according to Lavor. "We have a more varied menu than the average fast food restaurant and we're the first Wienerschnitzel in the country with a salad bar." The restaurant serves breakfast and is open seven days a week. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 7:00 am to 9:00 pm and Sunday, 11:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Business was a little slower than initially expected, but things are "picking up each month and getting better all the time." The Neuenswanders look forward to new tenants and more workers in the park. They know that the good quality and variety offered in their restaurant will appeal to weight-conscious secretaries and busy managers. Stop in and say hello to this family that works together.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: August 11, 1986 Pathways.