When Petite Auberge opened in the Toco Hill shopping center in 1974, Helmut Bittl and his brother-in-law, Wolfgang Gropp, divided their labors as partners in traditional fashion for restaurateurs: Gropp was the chef and managed the back (i.e., the kitchen), and Bittl became the maître d’ and managed the front.
He did more than that. He chose the décor for the dining room, bar and entrance hall, a blend of influences from Old Europe, and he selected the paintings that grace the walls. He hired waiters, many of them experienced already, and fine-tuned their approach to the restaurant’s clientele.
For 17 years he was an ever-attentive presence, projecting continental charm and never forgetting the names of regular diners, said a nephew, Michael Gropp of Norcross. He and his brother, Anthony Gropp of Atlanta, became co-proprietors of the restaurant after their father, Wolfgang Gropp, retired.
Houston Smith of Atlanta, Petite Auberge’s accountant and a frequent diner there, described Bittl as suave, elegant, debonair — “the sort of guy who could kiss a lady’s hand and make it seem like the most natural thing in the world.”
Bittl also was a good businessman. “Helmut deserves a lot of credit for Petite Auberge remaining a family business as long as it has and for having a low employee turnover and a smooth relationship with its attorneys and accountant,” Smith said.
Helmut Anton Bittl, 78, died April 1 at Halcyon Hospice of lung cancer. A memorial service was held Saturday at Petite Auberge. A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Bittl came to Atlanta by a circuitous route. Born in Munich, Germany, he earned certification as a master glass cutter. In 1966 Bittl was beset with a case of wanderlust, according to Michael Gropp, and traveled to Houston.
There he worked briefly at a glass firm but soon found administrative jobs in California with Matson and SeaTrain shipping firms. His work in the cargo business took him to postings in Hawaii, Germany, the Netherlands and San Francisco before he was invited by his sister, Ilse Gropp, and her husband to join their restaurant venture.
In 1991 he retired and resumed his travels, usually going abroad twice a year. Though he spent 10 months of the year in and around Atlanta, he kept a small apartment in Munich as a jumping-off spot for cultural events in Europe.
Similarly, Bittl was a regular patron of the High Museum, the Atlanta Symphony, the Atlanta Opera and the Alliance and other local theaters.
Donna Angel of Woodstock, founding director of Capitol City Opera Company, said Bittl was a great supporter of her group.
“For the last seven years we’ve been performing monthly at Petite Auberge, every third Tuesday evening, and I don’t think he missed one of our performances until his recent health problems,” she said. “He’d be there, often hosting a table full of his friends and sharing his considerable knowledge of opera with them.”
Angel said Bittl was especially fond of Richard Wagner’s music. “It takes a special voice to sing it,” she said. “We had one young woman in our group with that gift, Rebecca Teem, a former Kennesaw State student now singing in Germany. Once, for Helmut’s birthday, we arranged for her to sing Wagner compositions for him at Petite Auberge. He was so pleased.”
Bittl’s sister Ilse died in 2007. His two nephews are his only immediate survivors.
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