Rohrbachs celebrate opening of major backyard expansion and thank supporters
Cory and Lilian Rohrbach were joined by Assemblyman Billy Jones and Mayor Paul Maroun for the ribbon-cutting at their new outdoor dining place last Tuesday (Dan McClelland photos)
by Dan McClelland
The product of months of construction work that has transformed their business' backyard into an attractive and unique outdoor dining place was proudly shown off to their friends and supporters by Amado owners Cory and Lilian Rohrbach last Tuesday evening.
The couple used the occasion to thank those who helped them on this ambitious expansion of their business that will now permit them to accommodate as many as 300 diners at a single seating.
The new place is called “Amado Outdoors- seasonal dining”. A new sign created by Stacked Graphics welcomes diners to it from the Lake St. corridor.
The transformation of the Amado 's back yard began last year when the couple built three greenhouse-style individual dining room buildings. It was their answer to the restrictions of COVID-19 last summer and it worked. The tiny dining rooms were a hit from the start.
Complementing them in the landscaped yard area were a number of outdoor tables. Several large trees offer shade in the patio areas.
The success they saw during the depths of last summer's pandemic inspired them to take an even bigger step in outdoor dining.
The first step was the purchase of the adjacent property on Lake Street, the long-time home of the Tyo family.
They presented plans this winter to the town and village planning board and with its blessing, started building outdoors as soon as winter broke.
What they created were four wooden pavilion-style dining rooms and a bar in the fourth pavilion, all attached and nestled right up to the house they purchased. Each dining pavilion has its own name: Sunset, Half Moon, Moose Cave and Calm Waters. The bar pavilion they named Taverna Paradiso (Paradise Tavern in Italian).
In the bar there are or will soon be 15 draft beer varieties on tap, as well as one cider and four wines- two white and two red. Eventually liquor will also be available for sale.
Everything- floors, walls, rafter-style ceilings- is done in wood, stained light brown. In each dining building and the bar overhead light spills out from what Cory calls Sputnik chandeliers hung from exposed rafters.
The five buildings are all connected and covered so diners and servers can always avoid the elements.
Invited guests enjoy drinks and fellowship on Tuesday, June 29 in the “Calm Waters” pavilion at Amado Outdoors.
One section of the landscaped area between the restaurant and the pavilions is called Happiness Square and another is called Romance Square. Between the two is a large statue of Big George- a big foot character who welcomes diners to the outdoor area from an entrance way off Lake Street. A small sign at his feet advises guests not to feed the Sasquatch.
Pea-sized gravel covers the entire outdoor area, where there are not flower beds and shrubs.
New restrooms have been created inside the partially vacant house, which also offers plenty of space for the storage for their dining room tables and such this winter.
The house is expected to get a facelift as early as next year, according to what Cory told the local planning board this past winter.
All dining this summer season will be located either in the greenhouse rooms or the new pavilions, as well as in the two landscaped patio areas. There will be no dining in the restaurant until fall.
This year Lilian and Cory have also doubled the size of their kitchen at the back of their building.
Much of the outdoor building work was completed since May 1 when the couple had just finished staining all the wood, which they purchased in bulk last year.
As of a week or so ago, tables and chairs for the patios areas were arriving daily. There will be rows of two, four and six-top dining tables there.
“For this summer we'll be set up for about 250 diners,” Cory said during an interview in mid-June.
“Our maximum seating with social distancing will be about 300.”
He explained there is no reason guests will have to be seated inside the main restaurant this summer. Each pavilion will be equipped with “strip warmers” in the rafters and small thermal cells, which many campers use.
“You have to use common sense here in the Adirondacks. We know the evenings in August and September can be cool and we want people to be comfortable.”
Heavy beige drapes surround each building- that can be opened or closed at the preference of the diners. They are for blocking the sun on sunny days and reducing the wind on windy days, Cory explained. They'll also keep out rain on even windy days.
The Rohrbachs have partnered with Tupper Arts and so on the walls of each pavilion are laminated copies of photographs of the late Kathleen Bigrow which are for public viewing and for sale, with proceeds to go the arts center.
Of the overall project, Chef Rohrbach “said this is what could be done with all the funds that were made available to businesses during COVID....Small Business Administration loans, Franklin County Industrial Development loans and “Raising the Bar” funds from New York State which helped restaurants adapt to this new environment.” The latter was a one-time grant of $5,000 and the only grant they received.
He said the various funds that were available to businesses were designed to spur re-investment. “It wasn't about putting that money in your pocket...it was to re-design your business to meet future global pandemics!”
Cory said he and his wife and their new facility are set now to greet future social disasters “because now they don't have to close” if social distancing is again required.
He said he figures their outdoor dining operation will be able to continue into early October. It's a matter of adapting with diners and staff wearing a little warmer clothing. “Look at Europe, people in the Alps dine outside much of the year.”
“If we have a chilly fall day, we can close our curtains and keep much of the heat in!”
At Tuesday's celebration Chef Rohrbach acknowledged many of the agencies that helped them along the way.
A small loan from Franklin County Economic Development Agency at the start of COVID helped fund the construction last summer of the three greenhouse-style dining rooms and new outdoor seating in a landscaped setting near them. That added dining spots for six to ten people in those three , plus nine sets of tables and chairs in the new garden area around them.
“It worked great. We were serving about 120 people a day, often turning away 60 or more people for lack of space.”
“So we decided to purchase the neighboring property which included the old house.”
The new property gave them a campus of 100 feet by 200 feet to work their magic.
Most of the carpentry work this spring was done by Cory and Lilian. The also did the excavating and stone work that went into the patio areas.
Jack and Alex Lewis did all the wiring in the new complex. They began their work in February on the kitchen enlargement which Cory said now allows them to serve as many as 300 guests.
He said they faced many challenges in re-wiring the old building where the kitchen is located.
Lilian and Cory had help too from Andrew Powers and Nick LaMere, two young carpenters associated with Mike Vaillancourt. They did some of the roofing.
“Everything from the top rails (of the walls) down were built by my wife and I!”
All of the staining was done by Lilian, her daughter Aylie and helper Emily Sipler.
The ceremony Tuesday began with the cutting of an ornamental ribbon of bows and spruce bows fashioned by local florist Ann Hoag. Mayor and County Legislator Paul Maroun and Assemblyman Billy Jones joined the couple for the cutting.
Mr. Rohrbach acknowledged the two, saying they were both “great people. “We met Billy shortly after he was elected to the Assembly and came here to have our Buffalo chicken sandwich, which he very much liked.” He said the assemblyman has been very helpful to their project, as has the mayor.
He applauded the mayor “for all he has done for us since we opened in 2016.”
After the ribbon was cut Cory addressed all the guests.
He began by giving tremendous credit to his wife Lilian, who he met 17 years ago when he was working in Brazil at the time. “We've been together every second of the day since then!”
He said everything they do they do together. “Without her, none of this would have possible because I wouldn't have had someone to keep me grounded when I need it!
Cory said Lilian was working as a lawyer in the state attorney's office in San Paolo, Brazil when they met.
“When we got together our lives just changed in such a positive way!”
He thanked Dan Montroy and Chris White from Montroy DeMarco Architecture, which did much of the design of the new complex.
“These gentlemen helped us get our ideas down on paper so we could present it to the local planning board.”
He also recognized the officers and directors of the Franklin County Industrial Development Agency, some of whom were present that evening and who included board members Jim Ellis and Steve Ermann.
“We thank them for helping us financially to make our dream a reality! We're happy they saw our vision and wanted to help us with it!”
He said what was loaned to them by the aforementioned agencies, combined with their own savings and their toil, made the project possible.
The chef remembered that on the May 1 weekend Tupper Lake saw its last snowfall, “we were out the next day hanging the top rails” of the walls.
“We had to clean the snow off it before we could begin work.” He credited his wife for driving him to get the work done.
Cory also credited the Tupper Lake Municipal Electric crew for situating a new utility pole on their property and the village water and sewer workers which replaced a 100-year old main across the property “so we are never going to have to worry about digging up this space. They got it done for us very quickly so we could meet our timetable.”
Also recognized for their cooperation and support of the project were code officers Pete Edwards and Paul O'Leary and the members of the town and village planning board. “I would extend a public thanks to them for helping us make this happen.”
Before closing that evening he acknowledged a couple of friends and patrons- Mike and Lynn Kmack and his neighbors Ray and Laurie Martin.
“-And to all of those from Tupper Lake who have welcomed us to our community since our arrival in 2016, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
Cory said this week he and Lilian look forward to working with other local businesses to develop a stronger summer and winter tourist trade here. “There's more to come!” he promised.