Repairs, renovations continue at Flavour Café
dsanzone@troyrecord.com Twitter.com/DanielleSanzone
TROY — All proprietor Charlie Staats wanted for Christmas was for Flavour Café to open again. But he said he might settle for that as a Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day gift instead, since the café, which closed due to a Friday the 13th fire in January, is expected to open by spring.
With a large bright blue tarp covering the front of the 228 Fourth St. location, work at the site is evident and continuing. Employing a local general contracting business for much of the work so far, Staats is using the oppor- tunity to revamp the 100year-old edifice. Much of the exterior, including new stonework, is complete but the first floor storefront and second floor apartments still require a lot of attention, he explained.
Construction at the site started about seven months ago.
“Good things come to those who wait,” he reflected.
Along with the infrastructure, some changes will also be made to the menu of the business which would have celebrated its 7th anniversary about a week after the Jan. 13 fire.
That same Friday the 13th three other structures, two in Troy and one in Watervliet, were also affected by fires with two of these considered suspicious. The Flavour Café blaze was once thought to be arson but police have since labeled it as not suspicious.
Staats, who was initially hoping for a late summer reopening, is now aiming for the business to brew coffees, grill paninis and make cupcakes once more come late February or March. He is applying for a license to sell beer and wine which would also be a change from the original offerings. The hours of operation may also be extended.
When all is said and done, he will likely invest about $300,000 in the revamped café.
“It’s been a financial burden,” he admitted, but added that there’s been a lot of interest in the business and he looked forward to serving the community again. “It’s a big project and I want to do it right.”