Bernardo’s reopens Friday

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By Krystle S. Morey

Bernardo’s will reopen Friday under new management.

The restaurant’s new manager, Joe Chapman, said his main focus will be making the quality of both the food and service consistent. All of his plates are going to be the same whenever guests come in, from day to day, week to week, month to month, he said.

“Every time you come in you want the food to taste the same and you want the same kind of service,” Chapman said. “That will bring people back consistantly.”

Chapman hopes to rejuvenate the community by returning Bernardo’s to the “thriving restaurant and bar we all grew up with.”

One thing Chapman said is going to help get people through the doors is bringing back old Bernardo’s recipes from the 1930s when the restaurant opened.

The Italian-style menu is based on Bernardo’s original spaghetti sauce, made by founder Ralphie Bernard.

“That sauce is pretty much what this business was based on,” Chapman said.

Bernardo’s will feature daily specials, including hand-cut steaks. Chapman said he and the restaurant’s new chef have changed the pizza crust. Chef Chris McCullough is the son of the cook who ran Bernardo’s when it was unbelievably busy, Chapman said.

“He used to pump out 150 to 200 dinners a night,” he said.

“Our recipes are all original. It’s going to be the way it used to be,” Chapman said of the quality food he’ll be serving at affordable prices.

Chapman said the atmosphere in the restaurant is going to be more relaxed, with low lights, candles and Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin playing in the background.

Bernardo’s owner Ben Bernard, who operated the restaurant for many years, has stepped away from the business to manage the Dragons baseball team in Glens Falls, giving Chapman the opportunity to take over management of the restaurant and bar.

Chapman, who grew up in the restaurant and has always been close to the Bernard family, said it was a natural fit for him to become the manager.

Chapman’s roots are deep in the Granville service industry. His grandfather started Chapman’s General Store in Middle Granville. His family owned and operated Scarlotta’s on Quaker Street for 40 years and Chapman owned Scarlotta’s for eight years, before selling it to current owners Dan and Amy Nelson. He stepped away from that business to take care of his newborn son.

“The history of our family is really a solid background for the Granville community as far as business goes,” he said. “Restaurants and business have always been in our background. It’s something that’s in our blood.”

Chapman also manages the Giorgio Armani Outlet Store in Manchester Center.

“I love dealing with the people, my sister Brittany grew up with it too,” he said.

Chapman’s sister Brittany Martell will manage the wait staff at the restaurant.

Martell said she is excited to “get our town some business.”

“We have nowhere to eat,” she said.

With the exception of AJ’s Fine Food & Spirits in the Big Lots shopping plaza and chain restaurants such as Subway and McDonald’s, there are not a lot of places for people to eat in the village of Granville.

“People don’t want to travel all of the way to Glens Falls or Rutland to have dinner,” Chapman said. “That’s what we are trying to do here … bring back a nice place in the village to relax and have a good meal.”

On opening night Friday, a surprise, “interesting” guest will be present.

Bernardo’s will be closed Monday and Tuesdays and open 5 to 9 p.m. Weds, Thurs and Sunday. They will be open 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

“I want the people who grew up with Bernardo’s to come and experience the original way Bernardo’s was,” Chapman said. “Come and see the new, old style of Bernardo’s.”