Rosati's on Orchard Road Looking to Expand

If you live on the west side of Montgomery, and you’re looking for a place close to home to sit down and enjoy some pizza, you may be in luck soon.

Arturo Carlos, owner of the at 2083 Orchard Rd., is looking to expand his business, and offer a place for customers to sit and eat a meal. Currently, the Orchard Road location only has a walk-in counter, and isn’t large enough for tables and chairs.

But Carlos is hoping to expand into the empty storefront to the north, and become a full service restaurant. Carlos said the new restaurant would be about 1,800 square feet, and seat 90. He hopes to be open by the summer.

Carlos wants to host fundraisers for local charities, and his small space on Orchard Road doesn’t allow that now, he said. Carlos also wants to provide a performance space, and invite singers and pianists to entertain guests.

And customers may even get to hear the owner himself sing. Carlos has been taking voice lessons for five years, and loves to sing opera. He said he'd be throwing a few concerts of his own.

The Montgomery Rosati's has been open for nearly three years. Carlos also owns the Rosati's location on Route 34 in Oswego, which has been open for five years, he said.

On Tuesday, he made his pitch to the Montgomery Committee of the Whole, seeking a license to serve beer, wine and liquor.

The Village Board controls the number and type of liquor licenses in town, and trustees asked Carlos several questions about his plans. Carlos said he does not want to offer carry-out liquor, only drinks with meals, and he has no problem with a liquor license that would require at least 50 percent of his sales to come from food, he said.

“I’d like to be known as a great restaurant with great food, not as a bar,” he said.

Trustees consented to Carlos moving forward with his license application. Trustee Stan Bond was absent, but the other five were in agreement. Trustees Andy Kaczmarek and Matt Brolley both said a restaurant on Orchard Road would be an asset to the west side of town.

“A sit-down restaurant is definitely needed out west, and I appreciate your initiative on this,” Brolley said to Carlos.

Trustees also agreed to allow to move ahead with a request for an expanded liquor license for its three Montgomery stores, at 1799 Douglas Rd., 1212 Ogden Ave., and 2091 Orchard Rd. The new licenses would allow those stores to sell liquor, in addition to beer and wine.

Store Manager Jim Martin said the alcohol display would take up less than five percent of the store space, but would likely bring in many customers. A Walgreens poll showed that 87 percent of the store’s beer and wine customers would buy liquor there if it were available, Martin said.

All Walgreens stores across the country will be requesting this change, he said, as the current beer and wine license leaves Walgreens at a competitive disadvantage with CVS, Osco and other stores.

Police Chief Dan Meyers said he has had no alcohol-related issues with the three Walgreens stores in town. Trustees were unanimous in their support, with Kaczmarek praising Martin for “trying to find a new way to bring customers in.”