Iconic Syracuse German restaurant is reborn with pizza (and sauerbraten)

The Big Red Reuben is back. So is the sauerbraten. And there’s a new pizza counter at the entrance.

Welcome to JD at Danzer’s, the new restaurant in the space at 153 Ainsley Drive that had been occupied on and off by variations of Danzer’s German Restaurant since 1973.

It reopened for business today (Aug. 25), after having been closed since February, when the most recent owner shut it down and sold the business.

The new place combines a pizza shop, for takeout, delivery or dine-in, along with much of the former German menu and ambience of Danzer’s. It’s owned by Satar Mohammadi, who was formerly associated with JD Pizza & Grill in Jamesville (which remains open).

“It’s meld of JD’s and Danzer’s,” said Heidi Johnson, a manager at the new restaurant who was a longtime employee of the old Danzer’s. “It’s like the best of both.”

The pizza side of the menu has at least 21 choices, from the Cheese Lover and the Pepperoni Lover to Florentine, Mexican, Gyro, Buffalo Chicken and one called the Syracuse Favorite (with garlic butter sauce, spinach, feta, tomato and jalapeno peppers).

And, yes, there is a Red Reuben pizza, a take on the old place’s popular sandwich. Danzer’s always served a traditional reuben, with corned beef, Russian dressing and sauerkraut, but the signature variation was Big Red Reuben, which substituted red cabbage for the kraut.

There are also wings, wraps, calzones, stromboli and other sandwiches, including another old Danzer’s favorite, the Original Hamlet, with ham coleslaw and Russian dressing.

The menu also includes German entrees like Sauerbraten and a Bavaian Sampler, along with several Italian pasta dishes, salads and fried seafood plates. See the menu at JD at Danzer’s Facebook page.

More of the familiar German specialties may be added in the coming weeks or months, Johnson said. The old menu had items like Schnitzel and Rouladen.

The decor remains very similar to last version of Danzer’s, with a dark wood…