The atmosphere is set and the kitchen is ready to go at Aperitivo Bistro in downtown Schenectady. Restaurant manager Amanda Trackey says they are more than ready for the opening of the $330 million dollar Rivers Casino and Resort Schenectady.
“Fiscally, I think it’s definitely going to be beneficial," Trackey said. "I think it’s going to give a new spin and pull some people who may be going to Saratoga to Schenectady, kind of putting us on the map."
The Italian-style bistro is located along the trolley route from the casino that’s slated to start this spring. With the casino expecting 7,000-8,000 people on opening day, Trackey hopes those numbers will continue and help the bistro do a brisk long-term night-side business.
“Hopefully [we will do well] in the evening, when people are coming and grabbing something here and then or possibly going into the casino, or even vice versa,” said Trackey.
At Cornell’s in the Little Italy neighborhood, executive chef Michael Pietrocola makes authentic Italian cuisine. He says he’s excited and cautiously optimistic about how the casino will affect business.
“I think business will increase moderately, because there’s a lot of restaurants in Schenectady and there’s a lot of seats to fill in Schenectady, and the owners are hopeful they’ll get a lot of business out of it,” said Pietrocola.
He says the 35-table restaurant is usually only half-full during the week, but he hopes the casino will change that.
“We’d like to fill the restaurant during the week and then two turns on the weekend, two and a half turns,” he said.