COLONIE — Locally owned and operated on Wolf Road for nine years, and surrounded by huge chains stores, restaurants and hotels, Wolf’s has undergone some changes in the past year.
Last December, the huge game room in the back was converted into a banquet hall and owner Mike Diraddo said the response has been fantastic.
“We felt the business model had to shift and we felt that with the square footage we had to offer that this was the way to go,” he said of the spot that can comfortably seat 275 people. “Our staff works very hard on food preparation and presentation and people have been unbelievably impressed.”
The restaurant was known for bar-type food and while that is still an option for patrons, Diraddo and staff are focusing more on its traditional sit down meals of steak, sea food and pasta.
The restaurant also offers a family-style menu — platters of different food that can then all be shared among larger parties so everyone can try different things — which Diraddo said has been a very popular choice.
“We can cater to the couple looking for a nice meal to the large groups of people like an office coming in after work or an athletic team or a bus full of people on a trip,” he said. “It’s not unusual for us to have a group of 50 or 60 without a reservation.”
The new draw, though, is the banquet hall and Diraddo expects the months of July and August, historically a slow time of year, to be his busiest in 2019.
“We are locally owned and operated on Wolf Road where there is chain restaurant after chain restaurant,” he said. “We constantly have to re-invent ourselves to keep the customers happy while still offering a great meal at a great price.”