SCHENECTADY, NY -- They won't be serving home brew right away, but the new owners of the long-beleaguered Van Dyck restaurant plan an early June re-opening.
The historic restaurant/jazz club, which had been expanded into a microbrewery, now is owned by the McDonald family, which also owns the Stockade Inn and Pinhead Susan's restaurants and the Park Inn bar, all in the city.
The restaurant and performance space will re-open first, with brewing set to begin by late summer. The first floor restaurant/lounge area will seat 100, as will the second floor nightclub.
The late Marvin Friedman opened the restaurant at 235-237 Union Street in the city's historic Stockade section in 1947, combining his two loves -- food and jazz -- with the ambience of the neighborhood's 18th- and 19th-century structures to create a real gem that gained national stature. Some of jazz's top names performed there with regularity.
After his death in 1985, the place kept going, mostly on momentum. Finally, shabby and outdated, it closed in 1994, but bounced back in '97 as a brew pub and music venue.
The McDonalds bought it at auction for $250,000 plus $147,000 in back taxes after owner N. Peter Olsen defaulted on two loans. They then paid $70,000 for the brewing equipment and are in the process of refurbishing the property for an undisclosed amount.
ON THE WEB
• Historic Stockade
• Say Schenectady.org
• Dowd's Guides
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