Siro’s set to launch catering business in Saratoga Springs

PHOTOGRAPHER: David Lombardo

Saratoga Springs summer hot spot Siro’s Restaurant has signed a lease to operate The Lodge, a seasonal fine dining establishment on Nelson Avenue next to the Saratoga Casino and Raceway.

The new restaurant will be called Siro’s Trattoria and Catering, according to Siro’s Restaurant Chef Tom Dillon, who said the focus of their second location will be catering.

“We turn down hundreds of catering jobs every year,” said Dillon. He said the larger space will allow him to finally accept all the catering offers he had rejected in the past because of size restrictions. Dillon estimated that their inability to maximize their catering potential in the past had cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The owners of Siro’s Restaurant, a high profile group of investors that includes actors, jockeys and notable financiers who took over last summer, have signed a lease for at least 10 years at the new property, according to Dillon.

He added that Siro’s Trattoria and Catering will be a year-round operation, having switched to a seasonal schedule in 1995, and Siro’s Restaurant would return to its traditional stretch during the racing season. Recently, Siro’s Restaurant had been a source of controversy with its neighbors, as the restaurant tried to expand its open hours to include more days and longer hours, which are limited because of its location in a residential area.

The expansion of the Siro’s brand had been in the works since last July, said Dillon. Having spent 25 years at Siro’s Restaurant, he said the new opportunity was extremely exciting.

Regarding his new partners at Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Dillon said they had a great working relationship and that he would do everything to accommodate anything they needed. He suggested the arrangement was a natural fit because though Saratoga Casino and Raceway had a good location, its focus was on gambling and not the restaurant. “That’s not what they do,” said Dillon.

Rita Cox, the senior vice president of Marketing and External Affairs for the Saratoga Casino and Raceway, said Siro’s Restaurant was a valuable partner because of the excellent reputation they have cultivated in terms of their food and service. “We’re very excited about this partnership,” said Cox.

Dillon said they’re currently in the process of opening an event planning office to handle the catering opportunities from the new location. He said they plan on fulfilling catering commitments that the Saratoga Casino and Raceway had made for June and July.