Sandy’s reopens

Sept. 25--You won't need a shucking knife to pry open the doors of Sandy's Clam Bar and Grill. The bar reopened ahead of last weekend after it was temporary closed by the state Department of Health for operating without a permit.

According to Department of Health records, the permit was revoked in late August for failure to provide the required documentation for workers' compensation and disability insurance. The last health inspection in November found no violations, and the closure had nothing to do with the food or kitchen cleanliness. Owner Rich Mozal has operated the seafood and live music hot spot since 1973. His father opened it in 1953 with a business partner.

Future Franchises

Robert Haggerty offered a behind-the-scenes look at O'Hegarty Hospitality Group's first venture last week during a ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration with the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce for Cheesewich in Aviation Mall.

The Albany-based company uses the Irish spelling of Haggerty's name.

He said the idea for a restaurant that would specialize in grilled cheese and offer an easily franchised model had been brewing for about two years before the eatery opened in the mall in Queensbury on June 16. To date, 4,200 grilled cheese sandwiches have been sold.

While looking for a location to launch his restaurant, Haggerty met with Pyramid Management Group, which operates Aviation Mall. Among Pyramid's dozen other properties in New York are Crossgates in Albany and Destiny U.S.A. in Syracuse. Pyramid also operates three properties in Massachusetts and another in Virginia.

"They suggested very strongly we come here for our testing. We found it to be an almost perfect site for our purposes," Haggerty said. "As a connoisseur of grilled cheese, I think this is probably the most unique application of grilled-cheese sandwiches."

Haggerty hired Ben Brown of Queensbury to oversee the local operation and work on expansion plans, and Brown said he has already received franchise inquiries, including some from Canada.

In a tour of the small kitchen, Haggerty uncovered rows of refrigerated containers containing round discs he called "pucks," which looked like patties and were made of cheese and other ingredients such as meats and spices. He makes each puck from his own blend of cheeses from regional cheesemakers such as Vermont'sCabot Creamery (also the butter supplier) and Yancey's Fancy of Genesee County.

There are 24 different grilled-cheese "concoctions," including breakfast, lunch and dinner varieties, made from different pucks. For instance, the ham & hen breakfast grilled cheese includes an egg and a puck made of bits of ham and cheese. Other varieties include a wingless buffalo, a grilled cheese that tastes like hot wings. Two ovens toast the grilled cheese sandwiches at 500 degrees for one minute and 15 seconds. This site is a four-person operation, employing two people in addition to Brown.

Haggerty's startup costs were in the six figures, he said. He's not ready to offer franchise opportunities or costs yet just a few months in with the first location. Haggerty said he'd like to open five or six sites first. The menu includes other comfort foods like tater-tots and macaroni and cheese as well as tomato bisque soup.

99 marks 10

Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub at Aviation Mall recently hosted a guest appreciation day at its 104 locations in New York and New England, and celebrated its 10-year anniversary at eight locations, including Queensbury and Saratoga Springs.

Each restaurant helped to generate a donation to a local organization or charity. The anniversary events included trivia and a ceremony that honored the restaurant's longtime employees.

The restaurants donated 10 percent of total net sales on guest appreciation day in Queensbury to The Hike for Hope (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) and to The Wesley Foundation in Saratoga Springs.

___

(c)2014 The Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.)

Visit The Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.) at www.poststar.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services