As the hospitality industry continues to take a hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new restaurant in Chautauqua County is committed to beating the odds, as one of Lakewood's bright spots.

What You Need To Know

  • The Village of Lakewood welcomes a new restaurant
  • Restaurant Association survey suggests 90% of new restaurants will not turn a profit in the first 6 months
  • The menu has a little bit of something for everyone
​

"The name Stella means star. But we've always enjoyed restaurants, and we've been drawn to restaurants with girl's names," said Bruce Stanton, Stella, a Kitchen & Bar owner.

Bruce and Laurie Stanton cut the ribbon Tuesday on their new restaurant Stella, a Kitchen & Bar, located in the village of Lakewood. 

Bruce will man the kitchen and develop the menu, while Laurie will work the front.

The opening comes on the heels of a state restaurant association survey that says 90 percent of restaurants are unlikely turn a profit in the first six months without financial assistance.

"It's an exciting time to be kind of opening a business though we've been faced with a huge challenge that we would never would have expected. But we feel strongly that if we work hard at it, we'll get through this and we'll come out on the other side and have a successful business within the community," said Stanton.

State Senator and restaurant owner George Borrello was on hand Tuesday to acknowledge the challenges and the rewards.

"Resilient we are as a community. It shows how resilient this hospitality business is," said George Borrello, (R) Senate-Sunset Bay.

The restaurant officially opened earlier this month.

Menu items include a little something for everyone like seafood, soups, burgers, homemade french fries and salads.

"And right now, our menu's relatively smaller than what it would be given that we have challenges within how many people we can seat. So we're not bringing in all those elements yet but we will be in the future," said Stanton.

The bar comes complete with a number of southern-inspired specialty drinks, and is in line with the proper state guidelines. 

"But the bar has proven to be a very popular place mainly for one or two people to come and actually have dinner, and then have a drink. But people are drinking at their tables with their meals," said Laurie Stanton.

It's that popularity that the Stantons hope will make Stella one of the brightest stars in the village.

Restaurant hours for now are Wednesday and Thursday, 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.