Kim Zeppieri watches over the progress at Beach Road and Canada Street that will add a carousel, bumper cars and bumper boats to the fun.
By Lisa Balschunat
The corner of Beach Road and Canada Street in Lake George is in the midst of change. What once housed one of the oldest miniature golf courses in the country is being transformed into Fun-O-Rama Fun Park complete with bumper cars and bumper boats, a carousel, pizza shop, restaurant, gourmet sub shop, outdoor patio seating and an arcade.
Owners Kim and Tom Zeppieri owned the property for 10 years, held the mortgage for the past four years and decided it was time to reinvest again at one the busiest corners in the village by creating a new and appealing space for family fun.
“This corner is one of the first things visitors see when they are approaching the village,” Ms. Zeppieri said. “They come down that hill and there we are. We want to make it as welcoming and appealing as possible.” The main objective of retooling this piece of property is to make it family oriented and affordable. “A full day at an amusement park, water park or other all-day activity can get expensive for a family,” she said. “We want Fun-O-Rama to be family oriented and affordable.”
Ms Zeppieri said she sees the entertainment dollar shrinking and the cost of gas still high so she and her husband want to “create something a little different in Lake George,” that wouldn’t totally empty a parent’s pocket. The facility can seat up to 140 people. Parents can watch their children from the upper and lower patios, while also enjoying the panorama of flora, fauna and, of course, the lake.
Under construction since November 2011, Fun-O-Rama has been employing 15 full-time workers. Local contractors and construction laborers from Warrensburg, Stillwater and places in between have made good progress on the project thanks to the mild winter and spring temperatures, Ms. Zeppieri indicated.
The concrete has been poured and stamped for the bumper cars, the 36-foot carousel they purchased from the Macon Mall in Georgia arrived and is undergoing installation. The in-ground water reservoir for the bumper boats is under construction, as is the Slice pizzeria, At the Hop restaurant and arcade. A muralist from Disney will be arriving soon to paint an exterior wall in the center of the park.
“We’re planning our grand opening Memorial Day weekend and will have a ribbon cutting with the chambers of commerce prior to that,” Ms. Zeppieri said. “I’m expecting to fill about 20 part-time and 20 full-time positions this summer, and I’m hoping to keep Slice and At the Hop open year-round.”
Ms. Zeppieri is presently working on creating specials for visitors to choose from that combine arcade tokens, rides, refreshments and food. She also is looking forward to training her employees for the season in the ways of hospitality.
“I learned many years ago from my father-in-law, Albert Zeppieri, who owned a bar in Mechanicville, that we need the customer. The customer doesn’t need us,” she said. “When I hire people to work at Fun-O-Rama they will be trained to welcome our visitors with a smile and a friendly greeting. We want them to have fun while they are here and we want them to come back to Lake George. I’m looking for happy dispositions and reliability in our seasonal staff. That’s a huge part of succeeding in a business like this.”
People come to Lake George to enjoy a vacation, have fun at the lake, to explore, to go on an adventure, or to rest and relax. “When visitors stop in the village they are looking to be refreshed and have fun,” Ms. Zeppieri said. “With this new set-up we want our visitors to enjoy themselves when they are here and come back again. As a matter of fact, we want our visitors to decide before they leave Lake George to come back again.”
With a grand opening indisputably “around the corner”, the two Fun-O-Rama owners are hoping for a three- to five-year return on their investment and numerous years ahead to welcome, entertain and feed guests who select Lake George as their vacation destination.