The Lookout restaurant at the golf course has new look, new operators
Dan McClelland
by Rich Rosentreter
Change is par for the course. There are new proprietors, a new name and a new game plan at the restaurant at the Tupper Lake Country Club - formerly known as The Burgundy Steakhouse. Its new identity is The Lookout and will be run by Jaime and Rachel Armstrong. It was slated to open its doors for the season last Saturday.
The Armstrongs have been running The Lookout since January of last year, but their efforts to make improvements and fully open have been slowed due to the COVID pandemic. And although neither has a background in the restaurant business, the couple said they are confident they have what it takes to build a successful operation.
The couple does have a local connection, as Rachel was born and raised in Tupper Lake, and her mother, Lydia Kriwox, owns Usher Farms on Underwood Road. Her husband Jaime is from Hudson Falls – and has been a familiar face at the local country club as a top-rate golfer. He said he has had an interest in running the restaurant for some time and when the opportunity presented itself, he pounced.
“It’s always been on my radar. I’ve played here many years in the Pro Am and still play and last year. I made an off-the-cuff comment to my friend Scott Delair, whose father used to cook here, Joe Delair. I was like ‘I’d love to buy this place; it has so much potential.’ So as luck would have it, there was an opportunity last year. I threw my hat in the ring, had an interview and now we’re here,” he said.
Jaime has previously worked as the director of golf at Kingswood Golf Club in his hometown for 15 years, and that is where he acquired some of his kitchen experience.
“I did everything. I oversaw the food department. I know my way around the kitchen. I know how to cook. This is definitely new, but it’s exciting and Rachel and I are building something.”
As far as the name, that was selected partly due to a local connection.
“Somebody said there had been a fire tower on the mountain and they called it The Lookout,” Rachel explained. “And that’s also what you do when you’re sitting down here in the restaurant or patio, you’re looking out, and seeing the beauty of why we live here.”
Facelift
Improvements at the restaurant started from day one when the Armstrongs took over the establishment last spring - and the original game plan was for The Lookout to open in the spring, but because of the pandemic, they weren’t able to open until June.
“It slowed everything down,” Jaime said, adding that one of the main issues was filling a kitchen that was gutted because the previous proprietors had owned most of the kitchen equipment and he had to replace everything in the room. “It was tough with COVID getting people to come in and hook up the new equipment. It was troublesome to get everything hooked up and operating.”
“We now have a fully functioning kitchen,” Rachel added. “It’s all new and better. All new kitchen equipment, new ranges and coolers – everything in the kitchen is new.”
The golf course board and the town board purchased many of the appliances in the kitchen in a cooperative effort to rebuilt it over the past year.
But the kitchen isn’t the only thing new at The Lookout – and many improvements have been made to the building and facilities.
“We did an entire facelift. We painted everything from the ceiling down. We have a new floor on the porch, a new entranceway and a new patio. Now we have outdoor eating, and that was a big thing with COVID,” Jaime said. “We painted the bathrooms and the women’s room is being re-done. We’re making a party room on the porch and making a doorway, and there’s still more to be done.”
“We’re trying to give a new look to the building. There’s new shrubbery out front,” Rachel said, laughing as the spring snow covered the new patio and the new-look outdoors was coated in white.
“We’ve been working on the bar. We have a fully stocked bar and a new tap system,” Jaime added. “The kegerator is new. We now have a full selection of craft beers. I think we’re able to offer more for different clientele.”
Attracting new and different clientele is only part of the plan for the Armstrongs. They also want to attract the local community – some of whom may have not been to the eatery at the local golf course for years.
“I think this place has a real deep history in Tupper Lake and seeing it thrive, I think, will bring the community back to it like it used to be. The community loves the history of this place,” Rachel said. “We want to make it accessible to the community again. This used to be the number one place for weddings and that has slowed. We know what we have to offer and we know the potential of it. We want the town to come back. It’s really a privilege to be in this position to offer this jewel back to the town.”
Of course, the new proprietors will not forget about the main course – the golfers.
“We cater to everybody, but we take special care of our golfers. They’re our lifeline and we know that. I don’t want to say we’re golfers first, but we’re very golfer oriented. Like I said, I played on the Pro Am, we have in-house tournaments. I relate to them a lot and I learned from playing here in the tournaments in the past,” Jaime said. “I get it being a golfer. I know when I’m golfing, I know what I want and I guess it’s easy for me to relate to them and we take care of them.”
“The golfing community has been super supportive. The feedback has been great all-around, from the town to the golfers,” he added.
The menu
Another new feature at The Lookout will be expanded offerings on the menu – from food to beverages.
“We have a great menu that we’ve been working on all winter; it’s a full spectrum,” Rachel said. “Jaime really brought a new fresh facelift to this. Instead of the traditional steakhouse feel, it’s the new, fresh feel.”
“It’s not the typical country club menuN now we have a little bit of everything, a nice lunch menu, tons of beers. I would say Adirondack dining, I wouldn’t say fine dining,” Jaime said. “You can get your pub fare or you can get your lobster tails and steak. We use fresh produce from local farms. That’s the type of stuff that’s in now, farm to market to table.”
“We have a Tao chicken sandwich, which is fun. We have a bison burger, we have an Usher Farm chopped salad,” Rachel said, adding that there’s a choice of craft beer, including Raquette River Brewing.
“It’s very affordable and you’re going to get the views and take in the scenery and that’s what we want to take advantage of – we want to make people aware that we’re here and we’re fresh and we’re young. And it’s not The Burgundy Steakhouse at the Country Club, it’s something different,” Jaime said. “There’s a little bit of something for everyone. The place needed a new vibe. We’re trying to capture a lot of different audiences with what we offer – it needed a different, younger approach.”
With that thought, the Armstrongs said they hope to connect with all segments of the community and visitors – as they believe some people have forgotten the gem alongside the golf course. To emphasize that point, Jaime told the story of some friends who recently came to visit him at his new establishment.
“They said ‘We forgot about this place.’ We want people to remember and know we are here and attract people back again,” he said, adding that he hopes word spreads about The Lookout. “In the past, there were some parties that would go elsewhere and we were able to get them back here, so that was nice. I think word of mouth is very important, especially in a small community.”
“We want to have events here and we want to maintain that country club feeling, but just make it accessible and a destination for locals and visitors again,” Rachel said. “I think that approach was lost somewhat.”
One form of event The Lookout hopes to host are weddings as couples can tie the knot on the tee overlooking the fairway – a location that has a special place in the hearts of the Armstrongs -they were married at that spot last year.
“We did and it’s absolutely gorgeous,” Rachel said. She is expecting the couple’s first child in the upcoming months. When asked, she said that she does not golf.
“But the baby will,” Jaime said with a laugh.
Support
The Armstrongs also recognized the support and help they’ve had as far as giving The Lookout a new beginning.
“The town has been wonderful. Patty Littlefield has really spent a lot of time helping us with the renovations, she’s paid for a lot of the materials. And the golf board has been supportive. They’re really happy to see the improvements and have been happy to pay for the materials for the improvements,” Rachel said. “It’s only going to help them in the end by improving the building.”
Jaime said it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
“We’re happy, we wanted to do improvements. I think it’s going to be great. I think we’re going to attract more parties and more clientele just by being able to offer an up-to-date place. It needed a facelift and it needed some changes. It needed a patio - and the new patio is going to be huge, outdoor dining has taken off due to COVID,” Jaime said. “People will want to come here just for the patio, they’ll want to sit outside and look down the green and the awesome views and have some lunch or some drinks.”
“It’s not grandma’s steakhouse anymore,” Rachel said, adding that she has plans to decorate the patio area since her mom has a greenhouse. “I’m going to plant a wall of sunflowers along the wall.”
As far as opening for the season, the couple said they plan to open Saturday, May 1 and have the lunch menu available. There is still some work being done, but the couple is ready for business. Patrons can sit down inside to eat or take out.
Rachel said that The Lookout already has three weddings booked for this year, and those interested in booking an event can visit their Facebook page for more information.
The couple is also open to suggestions for menu and drink items.
“We have had suggestions from people and taken them to heart. One woman is a regular golfer who had a regular drink so it has been named ‘Mary’s Margarita’ on the menu. We’ve had request to carry certain liquors and certain beers and we added it,” Rachel said. “We’re pretty adaptable and I think that is one thing about us not being from the restaurant background and set in our ways, so when people say ‘Hey, I want a taco bar for our wedding,’ we like say: 'sure let’s do it!'” We’re all about ‘this is new and we’re building something,’ and we’re excited.”
“We will consider requests within reason,” Jaime added. “We like to do that kind of stuff. We’re not like a cookie-cutter. We might be a little unorthodox, but we like it that way. We’re excited – and we hope the community comes to check us out.”