The owners of the Lost Dog Café have broke ground on an expansion to their restaurant. The Lost Dog Lounge, a 4,000-square-foot pub space that will feature live music, appetizers and a full bar, is slated to debut in April.
On Dec. 1, Orion Balance & Beauty, Inc. — a local hair salon that operated out of the same building as Lost Dog — relocated to Washington Street, leaving a vacant office space next to the restaurant.
According to Lost Dog co-owner Marie McKenna, the landlord of the building gave her and co-owner Elizabeth Hughes first dibs on the space. They jumped on the opportunity.
“We didn’t know how we would expand, but we always wished we had more space to do other things. So when this opportunity came up, we just kind of went with it,” McKenna said.
The lounge will be open in time for the class of 2012 to enjoy the addition, McKenna said.
“We’re shooting for some time in April,” McKenna said. “I’m confident that it will be open before the semester is over.”
McKenna said that the names of the two spaces will be kept intentionally similar so that people will recognize the connection with the original restaurant, while they enjoy the pub-like addition.
Construction on the space, which began three weeks ago, is projected to cost between $60,000 and $70,000, which includes the renovations and equipment, according to McKenna. She is hopeful that construction will be completed in the next four weeks, and the rest is just a waiting game.
“It’s just a matter of stocking the bar, getting our liquor license from Albany and then we’re ready to go,” she said.
When the restaurant first moved to their current location on Water Street in April 1997, McKenna and Hughes were given the choice between their current location and the space next door.
They were attracted to their current location because of the design of the space, particularly the large windows at the front of the building.
The recently purchased space, on the other hand, is more conducive to a lounge-like atmosphere, according to McKenna.
“The space is better for a lounge because it’s a little darker — it looks more like a bar and less like a restaurant,” she said. “The restaurant doesn’t lend itself to doing things we’ve always wanted to do because people are eating and we don’t want to disturb them.”
She hopes the lounge will be better suited than the restaurant for different types of events, including local music, comedians and benefits.
“We’ll just be able to do fun things that we just couldn’t do in the restaurant,” McKenna said. “Also, there’s not a lot of places for musicians to play in town, so we’re hoping to be more of a musical venue.”
Jazz music is featured at Lost Dog a few times a month, but McKenna said it often interferes with people’s dining experience and business meetings, so they decided to limit their offerings.
“With the Lost Dog Lounge, we won’t have to worry about anything — we can have music any night we feel like having music, and we can have any kind of music,” McKenna said.
Megan Shurtleff, Lost Dog’s general manager of more than 10 years, said she is enthusiastic about the lounge’s effect on the Binghamton area’s music scene.
“I know when I first started working here years ago, we had quite a few different bands,” Shurtleff said. “However, with the restaurant’s popularity, it’s been harder to do. It’s definitely something that is a little bit lacking in the area, as a few places that used to host artists have closed.”
Emily Grgas, a senior majoring in economics, said she is excited about the expansion, but wishes it had come sooner.
“It seems like both Binghamton and the University are getting all these amazing new buildings and restaurants right when I’m graduating,” she said, referring to the opening of the new dormitories on campus and the slew of new local businesses.
Nevertheless, Grgas, a music lover, said Binghamton is missing this type of atmosphere.
“I think a trendy bar that has good music is just what Binghamton needs,” she said. “It’ll definitely be a great outlet for music junkies like myself.”
On weekdays, the lounge will open in the evenings, from about 6 p.m. to midnight. McKenna said it will be open later on the weekends, but they have not yet decided on an exact time.
With the completion of the lounge still months away, there are many logistics that need to be worked out, including writing an appetizer menu and securing a liquor license for the new space.
The Lost Dog restaurant already holds a liquor license, but it will require alterations to include the lounge area — it will not only be a place to hang out and hear live music, but will also serve as a waiting area for dining guests.
McKenna said the drinking policy and age limit haven’t been decided yet. However, it is likely the restaurant will extend its current policy of IDing per alcoholic drink.
Business has been good at Lost Dog, according to McKenna and Shurtleff, who attributed some of their success to the restaurant’s popularity with students and locals alike.
“I think there is something about the restaurant that people really like,” McKenna said. “We keep everything changing, especially the menu, which we change a few times a year.”