Apostrophe Cafe getting makeover at Proctors

PHOTOGRAPHER: Patrick Dodson

Shaw Rabadi, food and beverage manager at Proctors, poses for a picture in front of Apostrophe Cafe, which is being renovated, at Proctors in Schenectady on Tuesday.

The Apostrophe Cafe at Proctors is getting a complete overhaul to improve customer service and provide new menu options.

The cafe is being renovated and will reopen by the new season in September, said Shaw Rabadi, Proctors’ food and beverage manager. The cafe will feature a permanent bar, new displays and more cash registers.

“Right now it’s basically gone,” Rabadi said. “We’re building two points of sales with two registers to allow two people to take orders. Now we only have one. That will help greatly with shows. We’re also separating the food and beverages with dedicated staff managing both.”

Work on the cafe comes with an estimated $50,000 price tag, Rabadi said. Construction started on Sunday and is expected to be done by the end of July. A “temporary makeshift cafe” has been set up until work is complete, he said.

The cafe will have new displays for salads, sandwiches and desserts. There will also be worktables to allow cafe staff to prepare cold and hot food. The cafe will also offer international wines and other quality liquors.

Rabadi, who has been at Proctors since February, specializes in Mediterranean food and previously owned BFS Restaurant in Guilderland.

“I specialize in Mediterranean food so we are bringing in a touch of that to Proctors,” Rabadi said. “People appreciate the arts and appreciate getting out and having something light to eat and something different to eat.”

Rabadi said he is looking to bring more events, like chamber of commerce mixers, to Proctors once the cafe is finished.

The cafe will add seasonal salads, like chickpea and edamame, and have hot fish plates and gyro platters, he said.

“We want to increase our business for catering and serve our customers faster and smarter,” he said. “We’ve been doing a great amount of catering but we are really confined in terms of space.”

The owners of the Holiday Inn Express on Western Avenue in Albany donated all of the chairs, tables, cabinets and countertops. Rabadi said the donation allows Proctors to make more changes than originally envisioned.

“I think this cafe will provide a lot of added interest and value with the shows and will compliment what we do here in terms of making people happy,” he said. “It’s like a journey, an adventure.”