Changes planned for Panza’s Restaraunt
STILLWATER, N.Y. >> Longtime local business Panza’s Restaurant is entering a new chapter, as it makes a move to the Spa City with potential renovation plans for its original site on Saratoga Lake.
This spring, around the end of March, Panza’s Restaurant is moving its operations from its 510 Rt. 9P location in Stillwater to 129 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
Beginning sometime in April, the 81-year-old restaurant will set up shop in a new spot, the currently vacant South Broadway building that was most recently home to Paradiso Ristorante, but best known as the former Trade Winds restaurant.
“We signed a lease over there, and we’ll be moving our whole restaurant over there, in hopes that the town will give us the approvals that we need to do our renovations,” said Tony Panza, who runs the family business with his brother Mike Panza.
The owners want to revamp their Saratoga Lake location, where the restaurant and banquet venue has operated since the 1930s. Their plan includes demolishing the existing building, constructing a new twostory building for its restaurant and banquet facility, and adding a small boutique hotel to the property.
The hotel would have approximately 30 rooms, which would be available to wedding parties and event guests using the banquet hall. It would be the first hotel in the town of Stillwater, Tony said.
The business submitted a project proposal last summer, but it didn’t meet all of the town’s criteria and the board did not review it.
Tony said they are now in the process of re-submitting the project proposal.
The Panzas started working on plans for this project, which would be a large investment,
nearly two years ago. The building is in need of some major renovations, Tony said, and the business also needs them in order to stay competitive in the wedding and banquet market.
However, leaving it in the past is bittersweet. “This is the spot that my family started in 1938,” Tony said. “There’s a lot of history here in this building, and it’s got a lot of memories.”
The Panzas are inviting customers to stop in the restaurant on Saratoga Lake before it relocates.
If the new Saratoga Springs location goes well, Tony said Panza’s Restaurant has an option to stay in that location.
The goal for the future of Panza’s is “to hopefully let the legacy live on,” Tony said, “and have something nice here that would benefit the town.”
Town Supervisor Edward Kinowski said, “I’m hopeful that [Tony] and his partners can submit a reasonable package that will fit into the area that he’s desiring to expand.”
More information about Panza’s Restaurant, including its live entertainment schedule, is available online at www.panzasrestaurant.com or www.facebook.com/Panzas.Restaurant.
The restaurant can be contacted by calling (518) 584-6882.