A restaurant’s renewal
Peabody’s under new ownership
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Peabody’s Restaurant was the city’s very first sports bar, established in 1985, and many years ago it was its new owners’ favorite bar in town.
But the years took a toll on Peabody’s and it lost some of its luster. When the restaurant went on the market, four friends — who also happen to be Wilton youth baseball coaches — decided to take the plunge to restore Peabody’s to what they remembered as its original, beautiful form.
“It was always my first stop,” co- owner Joe McClements said, recalling when he was in his 20s and heading out for an evening on the town. The Saratoga Springs native said he would enjoy nothing more than sitting out on Peabody’s back patio, eating clams and chicken wings.
Before McClements and Eric Jackson, Mike Meyer and Peter Hart purchased the restaurant in early July, parts of the floor were sunken in, the furniture was dilapidated and a closet housed an 80-year old urinal.
The owners redid the floors, repaneled the bar, removed the urinal and most of that closet, nearly doubled the draft lines and installed 29 televisions throughout the premises — even in the bathrooms, so patrons never miss a shot, so to speak, or a play.
The owners, along with Bonacio Construction, did a tremendous amount of work on the restaurant to get it ready for a soft opening over the weekend. There were a lot of long days and late nights spent working and plenty of runs to the dump.
The grand opening is this weekend — in time for the Travers Stakes.
In addition to the interior renovations, the back patio received a facelift. A hidden mural of a jockey riding a horse was discovered during the outside work. The mural was nearly completed and then, it appears, abandoned. It was signed by Gary Noll and dated 1996.
The Peabody’s building, located at 39 Phila St., was many things over the years, Meyer said. It was a hair salon, a butcher’s shop and a deli, as well as several different restaurants and bars.
The new owners believe their reasonably priced menu combined with the bars’ new setup will put Peabody’s at a competitive advantage with their neighbors on Phila and Caroline streets.
But it’s friendly competition, Meyer said, and they have no problems promoting the other food and drink places around town — they even sell a Druthers draft.
“A rising tide helps all ships,” Meyer said with a smile.