BITE-SIZED
Emry’s Garden is the new name for Troy Beer Garden
Emry’s Garden is the new name for Troy Beer Garden, which owners Mickey Blanchfield and Amy Conway bought from founder Matt Baumgartner in fall 2022. The name — derived from the first names of Conway’s and Blanchfield’s respective daughters, Emily and Rylie — took effect last month. The business is otherwise unchanged, including its plantfilled interior.
“We just wanted to get ‘beer’ out of the name, to end that association with the beer garden,” Conway said.
Blanchfield and Conway are veterans of the industry who had been away from it for several years when the partnered to take over Troy Beer Garden and its upstairs cocktail lounge, The Berlin. He owned the tavern Beff ’s on Everett Road in Albany from 1991 to 2015; she ran the upscale Conway’s on
Yates in Albany from the mid-1990s until the early aughts.
Emry’s Garden is open noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, noon to midnight Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday. The Berlin serves from 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The address is 2 King St.
Glenville’s Sky Port diner closing at end of the year
Sky Port Restaurant, a diner near the Schenectady County Airport that opened in 1957, will close on Dec. 31. The daughters of the founder have long run the 66-year-old business and said they plan to retire. The building, at 35 Freemans Bridge Road, may be sold.
Long a local favorite, Sky Port drew wider attention (15th item) two decades ago, when its 17-year-old, 8-inch-long, oneeyed goldfish named Dick became unable to swim after coming down with swim-bladder disorder. A customer fitted Dick with a sling that allowed him to swim normally for the last six months of his life and enjoy get-well cards from around the world. Dick died in May 2003.
Sky Port is open for breakfast and lunch from 6:30 am. daily.
Riccitello’s is reopening
John Riccitello’s Restaurant in Schenectady, which closed in January after 61 years, is under contract to be sold and will reopen as a similar restaurant, using some of Riccitello’s recipes. The new owner, who is said to be taking over by midjanuary, did not yet wish to be named, according to The Daily Gazette.
The restaurant, located at 1687 Foster Ave., has been owned and managed since 1969 by Lewis Riccitello, son of the eponymous founder, and his wife, Donna. John Riccitello opened it in 1962. Lou was a familiar figure behind the bar for decades, and Donna made the desserts. She is offering Riccotello’s cakes, cheesecakes and pies for holiday orders this month.
Schenectady fish fry closes
Off the Hook Fish Fry, which opened in May 2020 at 1599 Union St. in Schenectady, closed late last month, according to the sign on the building and
Facebook announcement. No reason is given. Describing running the restaurant as a “fun and rewarding experience,” the owners say they are “on to new adventures” and that another restaurant will replace Off the Hook, which itself took over for Union Tandoori Grill after a four-year run.