By Jill Nagy
In a short period of time, Cassandra Chiaravalle-Randall and Michael Latham transformed the former Grandma’s Back Porch restaurant into Christine’s at 3017 Lakeshore Drive, about half a mile from Lake George Village.
It opened over Memorial Day weekend.
“I’m really proud of how quickly we did get in there,” Chiaravalle-Randall said.
The walls went from several shades of green to a burgundy red. Bathrooms were painted and wall papered. A new service bar was added and new lights went up on the deck.
“It’s not everything I wanted to do,” she said, but a good start.
In addition to the renovations, she and Latham, her business partner and chef, added some new items to the menu, including some of the Italian dishes she knew from Gino and Tony’s, a restaurant in Lake George owned by her family until last summer.
She said much of it is dressed with “our delicious sauce that I grew up on.” However, the popular American comfort-food type items like meatloaf, ribs, chicken and turkey remain the heart of the menu.
For breakfast, the new owners retained the “nice, homemade comfort food” menu, making everything from scratch, including home fried potatoes every morning. The breakfast business is doing very well, she said.
“We are trying to find a way to bring people in,” including discount coupons, Chiaravalle-Randall said.
Latham and Chiaravalle-Randall are renting the restaurant from Charlene Depold, the woman who used to operate Grandma’s Back Porch. The building is not insulated or heated, so, “at least for now,” will only be open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Christine’s can seat 129 diners, including 34 on the deck and the rest split between two dining rooms. They can also pack up food for take-out.
A rotating staff of eight to 10 serve the meals and another three work in the back of the house.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. The telephone number is 518-685-5228.