The building, with the Green island Bridge in right background.
TROY, NY -- The next step in the expansion of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que brand will involve this Rensselaer County city's Industrial Development Authority (IDA).
Dinosaur owner John Stage, who has restaurants in Syracuse and Harlem in addition to the Syracuse original, is interested in expanding into a now-vacant restaurant on the banks of the Hudson River in an area of the city that has become a major draw for pub-hoppers and restaurant-goers.
The sprawling site at 377 River Street, which housed the Castaway restaurant and then Fresno's On the River, went into foreclosure and was scheduled to be auctioned off. Mayor Harry Tutunjian has been lobbying Stage non-stop to expand to his town, but Stage wants some assistance.
He'd like the IDA to purchase the building and lease it to him. Because that would mean the building is owned by a non-profit agency, there would be no taxes on materials used in renovations, something the building sorely needs. Stage also is seeking exemptions to property, use and mortgage taxes based on the money he plans to invest in the property.
The next IDA meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 30, on the second floor of City Hall on River Street.
NOTES ON NAPKINS: Dinosaur recently was voted America's No. 1 barbecue joint. Story here. ...What's all the fuss about over getting a Dinosaur restaurant in your town? Read this.
Comments
You have got to be kidding me . Would the city give any other busisness a free ride like this .
Give us a break !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, in addition to adding an extremely big-name restaurant that will help draw more people (and $$) to Troy, having Dinosaur there also would put a now-derelict building back on the property tax roles as well as offer 80 fulltime jobs to the market.
A few breaks here and there would be a good investment of taxpayer dollars, in my view.
Paul, if you've ever tasted the Dinosaur food -- which offers several different styles -- you'd pay out of your own pocket to get them to locate in Troy.
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